


The Ones We Want

by RedTailedHawkens



Category: Hart of Dixie
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-17 00:33:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 43,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13647675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedTailedHawkens/pseuds/RedTailedHawkens
Summary: Originally posted on ff.net Jan 1, 2013. Last updated Jan 27, 2015.Au: At the end of The Crush and the Crossbow, when Zoe is crying in front of the Television, Lavon is not the one who finds her. For the purposes of this story, Tansy and Wade had the "you used to drive me crazy too" conversation after she caught up with him that night, before Wade got home, not the next morning like in the show.





	1. Chapter 1

 

Tansy was wrong. One hundred and ten percent truly and completely wrong. He most certainly was not interested in Zoe Hart. Who could possibly see them together, see how they argued, and think that? Was Tansy nuts? Sure, she knew him better than most but if the events of the past few days proved anything it was that Tansy was not good at reading what Wade was feeling or who he was feeling it for. She had thought he had wanted to get back together, and he hadn't. She had thought he was in love with her and he wasn't. Now she thought that he had feelings for Zoe Hart, and he certainly didn't.

When he got home, he just wanted to grab a brew and relax on his front porch, but he couldn't. He was out. Maybe Lavon had some, he thought before heading for the main house.

The lights were out but that wasn't so strange. What was strange was the noise coming from the living room. It was not the television, which was actually on a pretty low volume, but the faint sound of sniffling. Wade pushed the door back to see Zoe Hart curled up in a pathetic ball on the couch. She was watching some old black and white movie. Her hair was up in a bun, and she looked like a mess. He saw the tears staining her cheeks and heard her sniffle again. For some reason, it got to him, seeing her like that. Zoe Hart was a lot of things, annoying, arrogant, superior, selfish, oblivious, and multiple others, but if there was one thing she was  _not_ , it was pathetic.

"Hiya doc." He said quietly, trying not to startle her. She looked over at him, and he melted. Those big doe eyes of hers were swimming with tears, and he couldn't take it. He started towards her while she swiped at her face, clearly embarrassed that he was seeing her like this. He didn't care. She needed someone, and as luck would have it, tonight, that someone was him.

* * *

She hadn't heard him come in. She had been caught up in the movie. Okay, that was a lie. She hadn't been caught up, at least, not in that. She kept thinking about George. It had been so easy with him tonight; it had felt so right, like that was where she was always meant to be. And then in her office, that moment, she knew she wasn't imagining it. That was real, she was sure of it. They had had a real moment. The way he had been looking at her, even if he did have pain medication flowing through his system, was real. He had felt it. In fact, she was pretty sure that if Lemon hadn't come in … no, she thought, George would never do that. He was too good of a guy to kiss one girl when he was engaged to another. In fact, he was probably the best, most moral guy she had ever met. Just her luck.

Wade was giving her a strange kind of look, and it only took her two seconds to realize what it was: pity. She was being pitied by Wade Kinsella. She had seen him look at her with humor, condescension, amusement, lust, anger, annoyance, and even a few looks she could never really identify, but not pity. She had never been pitied by him and she sure as hell was not going to start now.

She tried her hardest to gather herself. She still felt numb; moving from her current position seemed impossible to even comprehend, let alone do. She swatted at her face, hoping he had not seen all the tears that had been about to fall. Then, she tried to get up. He sat on the seat across from her, still giving her that look, though now, it was mixed with something else. It was one of the looks she could never place. But there was still pity.

"I'm fine." She said, giving up on trying to get her weak, limp, defeated body to move.

"I didn't ask." He returned. His tone was casual, but kind. It was so … un-Wade.

"It's just a sad movie." She lied. She could tell he didn't believe her, but he didn't push her either.

"What's it about?" he asked. She could see he was trying to act interested, even though he couldn't care less. She hated this; why was he acting this way? The nicer he was, the more she felt like a charity case. Wade had never coddled her before. Her first day here she had been defeated and drunk, and he had teased her and then taken advantage of her. If even Wade was being nice to her, she must be really pathetic. She didn't say that though, she just answered his question.

"Just some dumb love stuff." He nodded like he understood. He didn't, she knew. Wade knew nothing about love. He was a lust guy, plain and simple. Sometimes, like tonight, she wished she could be like that, but she just wasn't. "You know, true love, happily ever after, the sort of thing that never happens in real life." she felt herself start to get choked up again. No. She wouldn't cry. Not now. Not with him. Apparently, her tear ducts weren't listening. She started going like freaking Niagara Falls, and she was sure she looked gross. Wade knitted his eyebrows, and for a second he looked like he wanted to run, but then he came over to her and took her in his arms, blanket and all.

"Shhhh." He whispered soothingly, "It's okay." This was weird, really weird. It was so different than the Wade she had grown used to. She had to admit, it felt nice though, having him holding her. And he smelled amazing, all musky and warm. She had not smelt that smell in a long time. In fact, she realized, she had not been held in a long time. The last time she had so much as kissed a guy was at the parade with Wade, and that had barely even been a kiss because she had pushed him away so fast. She felt so empty, so unwanted. And Wade was being so nice to her. Before she realized what she was doing, she was kissing him.

* * *

He didn't know how it had happened. He had just wanted to comfort her; for the first time in his life, when he was holding a girl, it was not because he was trying to make a move. He really had not expected her to … it came out of nowhere. He had been holding her, shushing her, telling her it would be okay, and then, suddenly, she kissed him. He was completely caught off guard, frozen. He hadn't kissed her since the parade, and that barely counted because, let's face it, she hadn't really kissed him back. So you could say that the only time she had kissed him was that night in his car. He had never forgotten it, what it had felt like. When that had happened, he had responded right away, without hesitation, so why wasn't he responding now. Why was he so frozen? Was it just because she had caught him off guard? Did it have anything to do with what Tansy said? Why was he analyzing everything with a long monologue in his head when there was a beautiful, sexy girl kissing him of the couch?

Zoe pulled away, looking at him, her eyes suddenly wide. He could see how embarrassed she was. More than embarrassed, she was completely mortified. He remembered how sluggish she had been when he came in, but whatever had caused that seemed to be out of her system because she shot up like a cannonball being fired and ran out of the house. It took him a second, but once his head caught up to the present, he shot up after her. She was one the dirt road outside the plantation. She looked kind of lost, like she wanted to run home but couldn't remember where home was. She heard the door and turned to him, looking like a started animal. He half expected her to twitch her nose and hop off into the woods. She didn't though. She didn't move. Slowly, he approached her.

"Listen, I'm sorry, I don't know what that was in there, you were just being so nice and you smelled," she blushed, then shook her head. He kind of wanted to know how that sentence was going to end, but kind of felt like he didn't have to, "I've just had a really bad day, and then you came in and held me, and I don't know what I was thinking, but I should never have done that, just leaned in and freaked you out like that," Freaked him out? Was she insane? Surprised him? Sure. Confused him? Maybe. But freaked him out? Never. Did she actually think his lack of response was due to anything other than shock? She couldn't really believe that he didn't want her. She was still rambling like a maniac, but she did that a lot, and he was kind of used to it by now, "appreciate what you were doing, and then I just ruined it by-" he cut her off, crashing his lips to hers. She seemed surprised at first, but she did not take as long to respond as he had. When he pulled back, he looked at her, those gorgeous eyes of hers, and said, "Doc, shut up." She smirked for a second, but then it changed into a smile, a shy smile. No, not shy, coy. She bit her lip in that insanely sexy way that made his pants tight every time she did it, and he could tell she was trying to make a decision. He found him self surprisingly to be genuinely scared of what her decision might be. But then he saw the look in her eye, and he knew her decision was made. She took his mouth and teased it until he was dizzy with desire. He picked her up superman style, never detaching his lips from hers and headed over to his place. He knew her, and whatever this new sexual braveness was, she still would never do anything on Lavon's front lawn, which meant he needed a bed and fast because he was about to burst.

In what felt like no time at all, they were in the gatehouse, and he had her pinned against the wall. Her hair had been up, but now it was cascading down her shoulders and tickling his chest, which he realized he kind of liked. He had taken her shirt off and he could see her bra. She had clearly not been planning to have sex tonight, because there was no lace or frills. It wasn't even black, just a plain white bra. Somehow though, on her, it was the sexiest thing he had ever seen. Though it would be even sexier off her. And Tansy said she'd never go for him, he thought smirking. Shows what she knew. Wait, no, she hadn't said go for, she said end up with. One night, sure, but end up with? Never. But who was she to say that, to know that. She probably wouldn't think that he would even get this far. Hell, he hadn't thought he would get this far with the way Zoe had been with him. She had been so stubborn.

A small part of him, the part that was thinking about what Tansy had said, was wondering what had changed, but most of him was just focusing on her and how beautiful she looked. He didn't usually think of girls like that. Usually, he thought of them as sexy, which she most definitely was right now, but more than that, she looked beautiful. He thought about that coy smile she had given him; that had been beautiful.  _Smile?_  He asked himself,  _you have her half naked in front of you and you're thinking of her smile?_ It was a little strange, but it had just been so beautiful, and so … Zoe. And Zoe was as beautiful and as sexy as they came. She was Zoe for god's sake! She was beautiful. She was perfect.  _Perfect? Really?_  He tried to shake it, shake the feeling that tonight was going to mean more than any other night with any other woman, or women for that matter, because he had done that. He tried to shake the feeling that this was something special, and real, and that he would never forget it for the rest of his life. He tried to tell himself that this was just sex, that he hadn't been waiting desperately for this moment for months. He tried to convince himself that this was not the beginning of something, and that the elation he was feeling was just hormones and adrenaline and nothing else. And he was nervous. What was that about? Since when was he nervous?  _Because it's Zoe._  He tried not to think it, not to acknowledge it, but he couldn't. It was in his head now, and he could feel it. With every move she made, every kiss, he felt more alive then he had his entire life. And it was all because of Zoe. Beautiful, smart, sexy, annoying, frustrating, stubborn, funny, rigid, prudish, brilliant, perfect, infuriating, frustrating, aneurysm causing, power steeling, dirty-look giving, condescending, stuck-up, gorgeous, amazing, Zoe.

Somehow they had gotten on the bed, and though the pants were still on, everything from the waist up was off for both of them. He took her in. She was amazing, perfect, and beautiful. Zoe Hart lay topless in front of him and he had never seen a more amazing sight. His heart stopped. But then it started again, and the blood was pumping, and he was kissing her. He kissed her mouth, her shoulder, everywhere he could find, and all the while she was driving him crazy with the things she was doing to him. Her breathing was heavy and he knew he must have been affecting her as much as she was him. She moaned, and he teased, and she teased and he moaned, and it all just felt so right.

"Zoe!" he called out, feeling everything building, his desire, everything, he kissed her, and she teased him, and he called out again, "God, Zoe!"

Then she opened her mouth to call something out as well, "George!" he stopped. He stopped kissing her, stopped touching her, stopped everything. He jumped back from her like she had a plague that he was afraid to catch. He felt sick inside, like he had been doing something vile and depraved just now.

_George._  He thought, the name making him feel even sicker as he thought it. It wasn't a surprised really. He knew she had a thing for Golden Boy. Sure, except Lemon, most of the town was oblivious to it, but he knew. He'd known for a while. There had been so many impossible to miss signs. Like that day building the float for the parade; that had been when he had first seen it, first realized. She had been banging her hand against her head, and then she had spotted George looking over. She had gotten all embarrassed and started fixing her hair. She had smiled at him, and there had been this look in her eye. He knew that look; he had seen it a million times on girls at bars. (Not the ones he picked up of course, the ones who were there with somebody). Then there had been after Dr. Breeland and her had saved that guys arm and he had taken all the credit. Wade didn't know the whole story, but he did know that George had something to do with what happened. He also knew that a large part of the reason Zoe had kept her mouth shut was to protect George. Protect him from what, she had no clue, but that didn't really matter. And then there had been tonight, when she and George had been alone together at her house after midnight. Then he realized, that's what this was all about. That's why she had been crying. Something had happened with her and George tonight, something big, and that's why she had been such a mess. Wade felt like an idiot. Worse than that, he felt dirty, and violated, like he had been partaking in something truly repulsive and deplorable.

He looked at her. Her eyes had been closed before,  _no doubt picturing it was Golden Boy_ , but now they were open. She was looking up at him confused. Did she not realize what she had said? Wade found himself becoming furious, with her, with himself, with that stupid bra she had been wearing and that stupid black and white movie she had been watching. He took a deep breath to calm himself down.

* * *

She didn't know what had happened, at least, not at first. She had not meant to say it, not even realized she had said it, but it had just slipped out. Now, she was looking at Wade. She couldn't read him. He was looking at her like she had boils all up and down her body and the skin on her face was melting off. She waited for him to calm down, to come back, but he didn't.

It was weird. Sure, his pride might be hurt a little, but it was Wade. It could not be the first time a girl had used him to forget about someone else, or picture he was that someone else, or whatever she had been doing. She wasn't sure really. A part of it was Wade, and how good he had smelt, and how nice he was being, but then suddenly she was thinking about George, and what it would be like to have him kissing her like that. It was something she knew would never, could never happen, but the thought wouldn't go away, and so she had given into it. And it had been nice, until Wade had pulled away. The way he was looking at her made her feel like some kind of whore in puritan times, and she didn't like it. She wanted him to come back. Wasn't this what he did, cheap sex to make girls feel better and then don't call him in the morning? She had seen him do it a dozen times, so why was she the girl who got the stink eye? She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, he turned from her. She noticed his back was tensed, "Get out." His voice was quiet, but gravelly, rough, angry even.

"What?" It was all she could think to say. Honestly, her brain was a couple of hours behind what was happening right now.

He turned to her. There was a look in his eye she had never seen before, and it scared her, "I said, get out." This time it was louder, and angrier. Zoe did not like to be ordered around, which was clearly what he was doing, but she had also never seen him like this, and it made her want out of his line of fire as soon as possible. Quickly, she got up and started looking for her bra, "Are you deaf?" he asked. He seemed to be struggling, like each word was a strain, and he was getting angrier, and scarier, by the minute, "I said-"

"I heard you, but incase you didn't notice I'm kind of topless." She said, her antagonistic nature overriding her self-preservation instinct.

He threw her top at her, which she caught and put on. She saw her bra and grabbed it quickly but she didn't see any reason to waste time putting it on when she was already covered in that area, or at least enough to walk back to her place.

She headed for the door, and then turned. She didn't know what to say, but she felt like she should say something, or had to say something, "Wade-"

"Out."

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

It had been two weeks since "the incident" as Zoe had deemed it in her head. Two weeks of pure torture. Her and Wade had never gotten along, so fighting wouldn't be a big deal. In fact, it would be normal. But they weren't fighting. They weren't anything. He basically kept away from her. Like when she blew the power, instead of coming over to yell at her, he just went out to fix it. And he almost never blew it anymore. She didn't know how he was doing it, though she had not heard the sound of a guitar coming from across the pond in a while.

When she came to the Rammer Jammer, he always got busy serving somebody else, leaving her to Shelley who, if she were honest, was not as good at mixing drinks.

There had been this one time he had served her … sort of. It had been four days after "the incident." She had walked in and George had been sitting at the bar looking perfect. She had kind of been trying to avoid him too, since that night, though not in an obvious way. Wade was being pretty transparent in his avoiding, but Zoe thought she should use a different approach. After all, George hadn't done anything wrong. He was engaged, and had been before they met. He loved Lemon. It wasn't his fault she felt so strongly for him … well, not technically.

She sat down at the bar a few seats down from him, leaving plenty of room for somebody else to sit between them, but not so much that it seemed like she was avoiding him. He smiled over at her and waved. She waved back, smiling awkwardly. Wade came over to George and put two glasses down, one with whatever George had ordered, the other with wine.

"I didn't order this." George had said confused.

"Just figured the two lovebirds would want to sit together." Wade said bitterly. George looked confused, and Zoe went pink. She was grateful he did not get what Wade had been saying, but she felt humiliated. Then, she was furious. How dare he? She wanted to give him a piece of her mind, but when she looked over, Wade was gone, and Shelley was taking the glass from George, saying she was sorry and she didn't get it either, "He's been barkin' at customers all week. Believe me, if I had a clue what was going through that thick head of his I'd put a stop to it because if he doesn't stop this he's gonna put us out of business."

Last week had been the big Homecoming game, and she had helped Lavon throw his annual pre-game party, which had been a disaster. It was really her friend Gigi's fault, but that was another story. She had gotten to spend some time with Judson though. In her efforts to move on and get over George, she had decided to give Judson a shot. They had gone for coffee, and he had come to the party, presumably to see her. They had talked, and it had been nice to talk to a guy without worrying about his fiancé, as bizarre as that sounded. However, the next day, she found out something had happened involving Wade and George and a guy who they had painted blue. Supposedly, the guy had needed medical attention, and Wade had called Brick. Brick! Where was his sense of loyalty; he knew she needed patients. Even if he hated her, Brick, really?

Sometimes Wade ate at Lavon's, but never when she was there. It wasn't that he was mean to her. On the few occasions when they had run into one another, he was usually fairly cordial. He was cold, very cold, but his words were not harsh, mostly because he seemed to want to use as little as possible so he could get away from her. So sometimes there were brief  _good mornings_  and  _I've gotta books_ , but that was the extent of it.

The bizarreness with Wade and the awkwardness with George were just a couple of the reason's Zoe was relieved to be flying home for Thanksgiving this week. She could not believe that it was already November, or that she had survived a whole two months is Bluebell, Alabama. Well, sort of survived; she was in kind of a weird place right now. She thought about all of this as she headed to the main house for breakfast, but then stopped. She looked around at the Bluebellians. They were dressed in the most bizarre costumes and carrying things that … she didn't even know. And was that a pirate ship?

"I just saw the weirdest thing-" Zoe started, but the moment she said it, she realized she had spoken too soon. Lavon was dressed like a freakin' pirate! And so was Wade! Wait, Wade. Wade was in the kitchen, and he wasn't running from her? Did this mean he was finally over it and things could get back to normal? She hoped so, but he wasn't looking at her, which couldn't be a good sign. Still, he was there.

"Shiver me timbers." Lavon said in his best pirate voice.

Zoe sighed, "I knew this day would come. You softened me up with heat waves and blue people, but I'm not falling for this."

"Oh, this is no joke." Wade said. He was finally looking at her, and while his tone was normal, his eyes were ice cold, "This is one of this town's most revered traditions."

"The early settles of Bluebell were-"

"Hold on now," Wade said, putting his hand up and cutting Lavon off, "I doubt the doc wants to sit and hear the likes of us explain the holiday to her. I'm bettin' there are certain  _other_  locals, who could fill her in way better 'an we can, and I'm sure she's just _dyin'_  for an excuse to talk to them. Ain't that right doc?" he picked up something, she couldn't tell what, and put it in his mouth. He was glaring at her now, daring her to say something, but before she could finish processing what he'd said, he put down what he was eating and said something about more supplies. Then he was gone.

She poured herself a cup of morning coffee. She could feel Lavon's eyes on her, but she pretended not to notice. Finally, when she could not longer avoid it, she looked up. Unfortunately, he was still looking at her.

"What's been goin' on?"

"What?" she asked, playing dumb.

Lavon shook his head, "Oh no, don't even try and pretend you don't know what I'm talkin' about. You and Wade have developed a routine since you moved here, and these last couple weeks, that routine has been turned on its axis."

"Maybe we just, you know, decided to be more civil to one another." Zoe tried, hoping, praying, that Lavon would let it go. Of course she wanted to confide in him. His advice would be welcome. His judgment, however, would no be. Simply put, Zoe was embarrassed. Not only had she almost randomly hooked up with Wade of all people, but  _he_  had kicked  _her_  out. Mr. 'I'll have a one-night-stand with anybody over eighteen and under 200 pounds' had finally come across somebody who he wanted to say no to, and it was her. It did not get much more embarrassing than that.

"Uh-huh." Lavon replied skeptically, "And why don't I believe that?"

Zoe lifted the cup of steaming coffee to her lips, "Lavon, please just drop it, okay? I would think you'd be happy. As long as he's avoiding me, we won't be fighting, which means you don't have to mediate. Plus, it is far less likely that one of us will murder the other now."

"So, he's avoiding you?" Lavon asked. He was clearly trying to trick her into giving something away. She stayed silent. "You know, as your best friend, I must say, I am a little hurt at the lack of confidin' you've been doin' lately."

"Not fair. You're gonna play that card?"

"Yep."

Zoe sighed, "Okay, well, what I tell you cannot leave this kitchen. And that doesn't mean if somebody else is in this kitchen you can tell them, you cannot tell anybody. Ever! Well, I mean, I guess if you want to talk to Wade, I'm not going to tell you anything he doesn't know, but anybody else-"

"I got the point Zoe." Lavon said, interrupting her rambling.

She took a deep breath.  _It's like ripping off a Band-Aid Zoe, just say it and get it over with,_ "A couple of weeks ago, Wade and I … well, we sort of, almost-"

Lavon put his hands up, already regretting that he had meddled, "Wait, stop. Don't tell me. I'm beginning to think I don't want to know."

Zoe slammed her cup down, frustrated, "Well, will you make up your mind? It's not like I haven't wanted to talk about it, it's just a little humiliating."

"I lot of girls feel that way after hookin' up with Wade."

"Woah, hey, I did not hook up with Wade." Zoe said, the offense plain in her voice.

Lavon stepped back, his hands going up defensively, "Sorry, just seemed like where you were goin'-"

"Well if you'd let me finish." Zoe said petulantly. Lavon sighed, then motioned for Zoe to proceed, "Wade and I didn't have sex." She sighed, "but we did, almost have sex." She winced, waiting for his reaction.

"You came to your senses?" Lavon asked, assuming what she desperately wished had happened was true.

"Bizarrely, no. As much as I would love to take the credit, he actually kicked me out." Lavon looked at her like she had lost her mind, which she found a little reassuring. A part of her had worried she was jumping to conclusions, and maybe Wade did sometimes kick girls out. She had not known him that long; maybe this was more common then she thought. Lavon's reaction confirmed her initial assumptions however. Wade clearly did not kick girls out, which meant something beyond out of the ordinary must have been going on there that night. She felt like she was missing something, but it was not as though Wade was offering to fill her in, "I know, it sounds insane. Wade kicking somebody out of bed. I mean, after maybe, but before? Anyway, he's been weird ever since."

"You got any clue why he kicked you out?"

Oh, yes, she had a clue. The timing of her exile meant that there was one specific thing she did that prompted Wade's freak-out. She wanted to skip it. Lavon did not know about George, thank god, and she wanted to keep it that way. As far as she could tell only Wade knew, and the less people who knew, the better. It was not that she did not trust Lavon, but she needed to get over George, not dwell on her feelings. Besides, she knew Lavon would judge her. Lavon was not a very judgmental person, but falling for a married man was a justifiable reason to be judged.

She knew she could not skip this part of the story though. For one, it was dishonest, but more than that, she could not get Lavon's insight without it. Lavon knew Wade pretty well. She hoped he could explain to her why Wade was making such a big deal about this. She could understand his pride getting hurt, but he had not been hurt, he had been furious and scary. He had not wanted to finish what they were doing, and she knew he had gone to bed with girls who had other guys on their minds. He must have; guys like Wade were known for doing that. She would also understand things being kind of awkward between them for a little bit, but it had been two weeks, and things with her and Wade were no closer to normal than they had been the day after "the incident." She needed to understand, and she wanted to make things right, which she could not do without Lavon's advice.

Lavon was watching her contemplate. Finally, she made up her mind. She took another deep breath _, okay, embarrassment Band-Aid number two, here we go_  "Well, okay, remember, you swore you wouldn't say anything to anybody-"

"Technically, I never did that." He said teasingly

"Lavon!" he chuckled, half expecting her to stomp her foot.

"Relax. I can keep a secret."

Zoe huffed, "There's this guy that I sort of, well, that I kind of have a little thing for." She put up her hand and held her thumb and pointer finger close to indicate the littleness of this thing. She knew it was more than that, but she did not want to get into that with Lavon.

"Judson?"

"No. I mean, I like Judson, it's just, there's this guy I am sort of trying to get over and when Wade and I were … doing what we were doing, I guess I sort of called out his name."

"Wade's"

Zoe gave Lavon a look. He couldn't be serious? "No. The guy's."

"Ah."

"Yeah. After that, he got all angry and kicked me out."

"That's a little strange."

"Thank you." Zoe said, relieved, "See, I knew I wasn't crazy. I knew I could not be the first girl this had happened with."

Lavon nodded, "You certainly aren't. I know for a fact that last year a girl called out the name Andrew about five times while her and Wade were gettin' dirty and he didn't have a problem."

"Ew, how do you know that?"

Lavon shrugged, "Girl was loud. Anyway, I asked Wade about it, or rather, if it could be avoided, and he said he could try and sound proof his place a little."

"Ew."

"Uh-huh. Anyway, she had been left at the altar by this Andrew for the best man, but Wade didn't seemed bugged. She stopped callin' out Andrew's name half way through, which Wade took particular pride in. Said it was a good night, and at the climax, girl couldn't've picked Andrew out of a line-up."

Zoe tried not to gag at the mental image, "I cannot believe you guys talk about that."

Lavon rolled his eyes, "Oh like girls don't."

"Okay, well, never tell me anything like that again." Lavon nodded. Zoe poured another cup of coffee, "Thank you for confirming how bizarre Wade's reaction was; he's way overreacted. I get maybe his pride was wounded a little, but apparently, that didn't stop him the last time with this left-at-the-altar girl." Zoe took a sip from her mug, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm grateful he stopped it. It definitely would have gone on my list of stupid things I wish I never did-"

"Bet that's a long list." Lavon said.

Zoe gave him a look, "Anyway, the fact that we didn't go through with it, definitely a plus. I can even get over how angry he was when he kicked me out, but ever since he's just been so … well, clearly, he is the crazy one, not me, which is good to know. I have to get to work. You can explain why you are dressed as a pirate later, but, please change before you take me to the airport."

* * *

Wade had decided to help out in the town square. It was part of his avoiding Zoe plan. She hated these crazy town things; she thought they were a ridiculous waste of time. Personally, Wade had always loved Planksgiving, though he had never been that involved in the set-up. This year, he figured it might be fun to help out, but more than that, he just needed to be somewhere he knew she wouldn't show up, and helping out with the prep for the Fish-Fry definitely qualified as somewhere Zoe Hart was extremely unlikely to be.

The two of them had barely spoken since it happened. He just couldn't deal with her anymore. Knowing that when he was kissing her and touching her she had been picturing  _him_  made Wade's skin crawl. He was still kind of pissed at her; he couldn't help it. He was pissed at George too, but that was a little different. Wade knew it wasn't George's fault that Zoe wanted him. He had just been his normal Golden Boy self. Still, Wade knew that he would lash out as George if he spent any significant amount of time with him, which is why he had been avoiding him. It wouldn't exactly be unfair to lash out at and innocent party, much as he wanted to.

The only real exception had been when Jimmy Praboo, and old nemesis of theirs had come back to town. They had to get revenge, this went all the way back to high school, and as pissed as he was at George, he couldn't just let it be. He had done his best to pretend they were still in high school doing this, and that neither of them had ever met the tine New York doctor with the short-shorts. He only talked to George when he had too, and mostly communicated with Lemon who, once she decided to embrace her high school self, proved to be just fun and rebellious and brilliantly evil as ever. It sort of made him nostalgic, he missed how they all used to be. However, once it was over, everything had gone back to normal. He stayed out of George and Lemon's way and tried not to think about how Zoe probably pretended it was her every time she saw them walking together being all mushy.

Dr. Breeland was working next to Wade, so when the good doctor's phone rang, Wade heard it. He had nothing morally against eavesdropping, especially when anything that could keep his mind off of Zoe was a godsend.

"Dr. Breeland … oh really? … Is that so?" he sounded somewhat amused, "Uh-huh. All right. Okay. Thank you Addie, I'll be right down." When he hung up, he was wearing a huge smile. Clearly something good had happened.

"Good news?" you can usually tell when somebody is feeling proud and wants to share, and Brick's smile was screaming that he did. Since Wade did not care much either way, though Brick's huge smile did make him slightly curious, he figured he would throw him a bone. Who knew, maybe it was something big that could act as a drawn-out time-consuming distraction from all things Zoe Hart.

Brick's smile grew, and he turned to Wade, clearly glad somebody had asked him to share the news of his good fortune, "Well, it would seem that in the homestretch our Dr. Hart is coming up short."

Wade's face fell. So much for a distraction. He tried to tell Brick that he didn't really care, and that he was just trying to be nice, or anything he could think of to get Brick to shut up, but he was still talking.

"The patient who would have secured her thirty percent has come back in and specifically asked to be seen by not her. It's nice how things turn out, isn't it?" he asked triumphantly. It was clearly a rhetorical question, so Wade didn't bother to answer. "Have a good holiday son." He said as he headed off, most likely to The Practice.

Well, this was an interesting situation. Wade did not understand all the legal stuff, but he had heard Zoe talk about it enough to know that she needed a certain amount of patients to keep the practice, and based on what Brick had sad, it seemed she was just shy of making it. It did not take a genius to figure out that if she lost The Practice, she would have no reason to stay in Bluebell. She'd probably hightail it back to New York faster than you could say "See ya." The question was, did Wade want her to leave.

A couple of weeks ago, the answer would have been simple. Even though he never would have admitted to himself why at the time, he knew if this had happened before everything with Tansy and Zoe that night, he would have tried to help somehow. He would not have wanted her to leave, and he would have done whatever he could think of to ensure that she stayed. Sure, he would have come up with some excuse in his head about how she made life in Bluebell more interesting or whatever, but the point is, he would have tried. He would have tried to get her a patient somehow. Now though, things were different. Did Wade want Zoe Hart to stay around? The question rang in his head. As it was, he was avoiding her every chance he got. When he was around her he got angry and hurt and he wanted nothing more than to put as much distance between her and him as possible. Maybe it would be better if she went back to New York. Maybe his life could finally get back to normal.

Would she even want to go back, he wondered briefly. Would she want to leave her precious George Tucker behind? Sure, she was seeing that Vet, Judson now, but it was pretty clear she was still hung up on Tucker. Would she want to stay to be around him, maybe try to win him over? Or would she want to create some distance to help herself get over him. Wade figured it was probably the latter, after all, she had already tried to use him to get over George, and now she was using Judson. She would probably be thrilled with the possibility of leaving Bluebell behind.

"Need a hand?" Somebody asked from behind Wade. It was Lilah, a girl he used to hang around with sometimes. Well, he thought, if Zoe Hart can use somebody to get over somebody else, so could he.

* * *

Lavon sighed. He was getting a little fed up with the antics and craziness of his friends/tenants. It was nice to have an excuse to leave the house, even if it just was grocery shopping. As he made his way down the aisle, he saw an unmistakable blonde head. He froze. Lemon and him had not spoken since she had explained to him why they could not be together. He was about to turn to another aisle when he noticed she wasn't moving; she seemed frozen.

"Lemon?" he asked tentatively. She whirled around, as though she had just been spooked out of some sort of trance, "Lavon. What are you-"

"Shoppin' for tomorrow."

She nodded. He could just leave. He knew he could. But he knew Lemon, her looks, her mannerism, and he could tell that she was upset. The look on her face was a cross between shock, hurt, and anger.

"Everythin' okay?"

She nodded, "Fine. Just some … family drama."

Lavon nodded understandingly, "You know, if you ever need to talk about any of that-"

"I thought you said we couldn't be friends." He voice was curt, bitter, but he knew a part of it had to do with whatever had upset her. He saw no point in picking a fight now.

"I know. And that was … wrong. Selfish. I should never have said what I said, never have put you on the spot. I respect you, and George. I apologize."

Lemon nodded, "It's all right. Sometimes, our hearts just get the better of us. We make mistakes." He nodded again, noting the distant tone to her voice, wondering if maybe she was thinking of them. Then, she straightened up, and in a friendly but proper tone of voice said, "Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for your kind offer. I appreciate it, and I will take it under consideration. I have to get goin' now, but I will no doubt see you at the fish-fry tomorrow." She started to turn and leave the aisle, but first, she waved, and wished him a happy Planksgiving.

* * *

Lilah lay on the bed, and Wade was hovering, teasing her, letting her moan. It felt so good to be here, to not be thinking of  _her._  He was going to bed with somebody else, and he couldn't be happier. It was a lie. Somewhere deep down he knew it was, but he just wanted so badly for it to be true.

Her deep green eyes looked up at him, and he made her moan his name, needing to hear it, needing to hear that somebody was here, that somebody wanted him. Suddenly, he shot up, unable to go through with it. Lilah, surprised, sat up too.

"What's wrong?"

He grimaced, "Lile, you know that this uh, that is, what I mean is-"

"Will you stop babblin' like an idiot and say what you want to say already."

Wade smirked. Lilah was never very patient. She didn't BS, and she liked to get to the heart of things right away, "You know that I'm not, that this doesn't mean anything?"

She snorted, "You mean, do I know that this is just sex, that it's just for tonight, that we're not going to have a bunch of babies and live happily ever after? Come on, Wade, I've known you pretty much my whole life. When you and I come to each other, I know what it is. You don't have to worry about me being some clingy little girl."

Wade sighed, "I know, it's just … it sucks to be with somebody and know that their thinkin' of somebody else, to know that their picturin' its somebody else touchin' 'em."

Lilah's eyes widened for a second in surprise, but then she just smirked, "So what's her name?"

"What?"

"This girl. The one you're thinkin' about; one you're hung up on, one you want to use me to forget. What's her name?"

"There isn't-"

"Are you honestly goin' to lie to me? I can tell when you're lyin' Wade, I always could. I know you."

Wade shook his head. He had not said it out loud yet, but maybe Lilah … he didn't want her to feel like he was using her, but that was the great thing about Lilah, she never felt like that. They used each other; they had been doing it since high school.

Lilah and Wade had actually gown up together. Their mother's had been college roommates, and were best friends, so they would hang out have tea or whatever while Lilah and Wade would play together. Then, when his mom had passed, Wade had gotten mad. Mad at her for dying, mad at his father for becoming Crazy Earl, mad at himself for being powerless to stop it. He had shut Lilah and her mom (Aunt Carolyn, as they used to call her) out. He avoided them most of the time, and was an all-around ass when he did see them. After a while, Lilah started avoiding him too, not wanting to get caught up in his anger and his drama.

When he reached fourteen, he was still furious as ever. He ran into Lilah t the supermarket: it was the first they had seen of each other in years, and right away he noticed that she was different.

First off, her body had matured. Lilah was one of those girls that developed early; she had the sort of figure that could make him salivate. Second, her attitude had changed. As it turned out, she was going through some family issues of her own. They were both angry and horny, and they needed to blow off steam, so they had just done it together, and it became sort of an arrangement; if one of them was pissed at the world and needed sex, but didn't want to have to deal with talking somebody into bed and then sneaking out the next day, they would just call on each other. As they got older, they started to adjust to their lives and how crappy they were. They needed each other less and less, but they always knew that if they needed a warm body …

But now Wade knew how it felt, to be looked at as a warm body when you wanted to be more. It sucked; it really sucked. And as much as a part of him wanted to prove he didn't care, he couldn't do that to somebody, at least, not right now. After asking her though, he knew she meant it. She couldn't care less that he was using her, because she was using him to. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Being used by her was obviously nothing new, and he was more than familiar with how it worked, but everything just seemed different now. Stupid Zoe. He hated her for screwing up his life, for making him care about this sort of stuff.

"I know you do. But I just can't …" Can't what? Can't talk about it? Can't admit it out loud? Both were true he supposed, but saying either of those things would be admitting something, "I'm sort of goin' through somethin'. And yeah, it involves a girl. Honestly, I wish I could talk to you about it, because you'd knock sense back into me, tell me to get the fuck over it and stop feelin' sorry for myself. Thing is, I'm just not there yet. I can't … say the words yet. I'm sorry." Lilah nodded.

"All right. Your choice I guess." She paused, "So, we doin' this or not?"

"You ever think it's unfair that we're always thinkin' of … not each other when we do this?"

She laughed, "It would only be wrong if one of us was more here than the other. But we both know where we are, where we stand."

Wade smirked. That was Lilah for you, and it was enough for him. They started up again, and they kept going for a while, enjoying themselves and trying to forget whatever they wanted to forget.

Once it was over, she looked over at him, smiling one of those  _I win_  sort of smiles, "So, Zoe, huh?"

"What?" He asked, surprised.

Lilah directed her attention back to the ceiling above them, "You called it out twice durin' round one, and at least twice durin' round two." She said it with a giggle, and Wade didn't know what to make of it.

"Why didn't you say anything?" he asked, kind of annoyed, and a little flustered, but mostly confused.

"I didn't realize I was supposed to." She had been staring up and the ceiling, but now she turned to face him, using her elbow to support herself, " 'Sides, I got a name, I was hopin' if we kept join' you'd might blurt out more information."

He did not love the humor in her voice. He knew she was teasing him, but a part of him couldn't be mad, partially because she was one of his oldest friends, and partially because, well, he sort of thought he deserved it. still, he was a little surprised by how interested she was in finding out about Zoe, "It's not like it's government CIA secrets."

"No, it's what's goin' on in a significant body part of Wade Kinsella's other than his penis, and lord knows that is far harder to uncover. Most people in Bluebell probably don't even know you have a heart, let alone that it's been beatin' for this Zoe."

"It hasn't-"

"Shut it." She said playfully. Wade smirked, "Does she know?" Her tone was a little more serious.

"Does she know what?"

"That Wade Kinsella has a heart?" Wade shrugged, "We use each other because we know the score. If you want somebody to take you serious, see you as more than a lay, you're gonna need to speak up. Else, that's all she'll ever see." She pulled the blanket up and started to drift off, "You can go." It wasn't mean or anything, just a statement of fact. Neither of them had ever seen much point to spooning.

Wade got up and headed for the door, "Happy Planksgiving Lile."

"Yeah, yeah." She muttered, turning over to her other side.

* * *

Zoe jerked awake. She tried to remember where she was and figure out what the heck that noise was? And why did her back hurt? Then, the haze of sleep started to lift, and she started to remember. She had changed my travel plans at the last minute. Caleb Hilson had lost his faith in pirate treasure fairytales, so she had stayed up all night working on burying a treasure and making a map. The treasure wasn't much, but she knew it would mean the world to Caleb. Lavon had helped out with the burying, but he was tired, so Zoe had told him she could work on the map herself and encouraged Lavon to head to bed. She must have fallen asleep on the couch.

Looking down, she was relieved to find she had finished before dozing off. That was when she remembered what had woken her. Somebody had slammed the door. She sat up and saw Wade moving around the kitchen.

_This could be my chance_ , she thought. This whole avoiding her thing had gone on long enough, and she was sick of it, so she got up and headed for the kitchen area. He was sitting there eating a bowl of cereal.

"Morning Wade."

He looked up, surprised, "Ain't you supposed to be in New York?"

"Change of plans." She said, grabbing a mug from the cupboard and filling the coffeemaker, "Didn't Lavon tell you?"

"I didn't ask." He said roughly. Then he put his spoon down and started for the door.

"Where're you going? You haven't finished your Breakfast."

"Big Fish-Fry in town today. Don't want to get full." He said quickly.

"But that's not for hours." Zoe argued, trying to get him to stay.

"There's always a lot."

"Wade, stop, this is ridiculous." He didn't stop. Zoe grabbed his arm, and he pulled it away like she had burned him, "Look, I know you're mad at me-"

"Not mad, doc, just not hungry."

Zoe could not help but snort at that. Not mad! Was he kidding! How dumb did he think she was!

She decided to try and bait him; maybe she could draw him out, "Well, good, because you don't have any right to be mad."

It worked. He turned around, the anger plain on his face, "Excuse me?"

"Well, it's not as though I did anything wrong. You're the one who started yelling at me for no reason."

"Are you deluded?" Zoe just looked at him, keeping her face as neutral as possible.

* * *

All he had wanted to do was have some breakfast, and now he was stuck have a stupid conversation with Zoe. Worse yet, she was acting all innocent and blameless. She couldn't possibly believe what she was saying. She didn't think she did anything wrong? Please. She was  _not_  that stupid.

"You seriously can't think of anything you might have done?"

She shrugged. What the hell was wrong with her? There's oblivious, and then there's just plain heartless. Wade felt himself getting angry.

"What, I was the monster that night, and you were totally innocent? Is that it?" He spat.

She went to the cupboard and took out a bowl, which she then set on the table next to his, "Well, monster is going a little far," she started nonchalantly, like she was the one letting him off the hook for his behavior that night, "but you  _were_ pretty rude. You never even tried to apologize." She poured cereal in the bowl and sat down.

Wade felt his blood start to boil. She wanted an apology? Was she kidding? She calls out some other guys name when they were, well, being friendly, and she wants him to apologize!

"You want an apology, huh? All right, I'm sorry I let you try and molest me. Happy?" Wade was going for sarcasm, though a little anger may have crept in. She seemed a little bothered by what he said, judging by the way she looked up, which, in his opinion, was a very good thing.

"Molest?" she asked, putting emphasis on each syllable.

Wade nodded. He was smirking, but his smirk was bitter, "That's right. I was just trying to be a good guy and comfort you because you were all pathetic and gross, and next thing I know, you decide you want to hook up. Can't say I blame you, but …" he shrugged.

"Oh, please." Zoe said with a scoff, "Like you didn't want to."

"I think the fact that I told you to leave implies that no, I didn't want to. Why would I, when you were all gross? You think that's what turns guys on, huh, messy bun, tears, snot, and runny mascara? Because I got news for you darlin', you were pretty much the farthest thing from sexy that night. Only reason I even let you get as far as I did was 'cause I felt sorry for you."

She looked like she had been slapped. _Good_ , Wade thought,  _She deserved it, after what she put me through that night_. He wanted her to feel what he had; humiliated, angry, hurt, and while it was no where near as intense as it had been for him, no where near as humiliating or anger inducing, he knew he was getting there.

Of course, there was another voice in the back of Wade's mind telling him to shut up. It was telling him how sad she looked and that he should take it all back. It was saying that he should go comfort her, do whatever he had to do to make her smile that amazing smile of hers. It was asking him how he could say those things … especially when he knew they weren't true.

She had been beautiful that night, just like she always was, and did she really deserve what he said? Was it really her fault if she liked George? It wasn't like Wade could stop himself from liking her, even knowing he didn't have a shot. How could he blame her for falling for the impossible choice, for doing the same thing he had?

But it wasn't just that she liked him. She could like him all she wanted; that didn't make it okay for her to try and hook up with Wade while picturing George Tucker. Wade may not be a saint when it comes to that sort of stuff, but even he deserved better than that, and he knew it.

She stood up, walked up to Wade, and slapped him. Hard. It stung, but he didn't really care. He felt kind of numb to physical pain at the moment.

"You're an asshole." She spat, and Wade could tell she really meant it too. But it was pretty much what she had always thought anyway. He knew he wasn't polite like her precious George Tucker. He was an asshole.

"An asshole you almost knowingly,  _soberly_ went to bed with. So which one of us is more screwed up?"

She didn't answer, just walked around him and out the door.

* * *

She could not believe it. She had spent all that time and energy feeling bad, wanting to make things right, to actually reconcile with him. What had she been thinking? She had absolutely no reason to feel guilty, that little scene in the main house was more than proof of that. He did not deserve for her to make things right, and she had absolutely no desire to get back on friendly terms. If he wanted to be like that, fine. She was done.

After she left, she started towards the carriage house; she still had to shower and change into pirate-like clothing.

"Whoa, slow down Big Z."

Looking up, Zoe realized she had almost run Lavon over. Oops. He took in her appearance and his face changed from chipped to concerned. Zoe could only imagine how she looked. Not only had she slept on a couch in yesterday's clothes, her face was probably a mixture of hurt and fury, mostly fury.

"What's wrong?"

"Either he moves out or I do." She knew it was an empty threat. Where could she go? It wasn't like she had moved onto the plantation by choice. Sure, she loved having Lavon as a landlord, and it was cool to walk into the kitchen with breakfast already cooked, but she had not really had any other options at the time, it was unlikely that that had changed.

Not wanting Lavon to poke holes in her threat or try to get her to calm down, and fearing that she might accidentally take her anger out on him, the good friend and innocent bystander, she walked around him as fast as she could and headed for the carriage house.

* * *

He thought he would feel good after she left, but he didn't. He felt like shit. He had gone too far, and he was sick of the back and forth in his head.

"What happened?" Wade looked up at Lavon's voice and plastered on the best smile he could, considering. The last thing he wanted was to get into this with Lavon.

"Mornin' Lavon. Happy Planksgiving."

"What happened?" he repeated.

"Listen, I was thinkin' I would put that new fuse box in after the Fish-fry. Where'd you put it?" Wade asked, stalling. He also really wanted to put that fuse box. He had been laying off the electricity since that night so Zoe wouldn't be prompted to come over, and he missed being able to play guitar hero, as well as his actually guitar.

"Why won't you answer my question?" Lavon said, undeterred.

" 'Cause I don't know what you're talking about."

"Then ask me what I'm talkin' about."

Wade sighed,  _looks like there's no way around this,_ "What are you talkin' about Lavon?"

"I'm talkin' about how I just ran into Zoe lookin' and soundin' more furious than I ever seen her."

"What's that got to do with me?" Lavon just looked at him, knowing no explanation was necessary, "All right. Maybe I said some stuff, but it ain't my fault she's so sensitive." Wade responded with a shrug, trying his best to sound convincing.

"Would the things you said have anythin' to do with you two almost hookin' up a couple weeks ago?"

"She told you about that?" Wade asked, surprised. He nodded, "What did she say happened, exactly?" Wade was curious both about how much Lavon knew, and what the situation looked like to her.

"Said that you two almost hooked up, told me you kicked 'er out, and she told me why."

"So she knows why, does she?" Wade said with a scoff.

"She seems to have a pretty good idea, yeah." Lavon said, nodding.

Wade shrugged, "Well, whatever. I'm over it."

"So you were avoidin' her because?"

"I wasn't. Our paths just didn't cross."

"Wade-"

"I'm gonna head into town, see if they need any last minute help"

Wade was so relieved to make it out of there. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about this.

* * *

"You did a good thing." Zoe heard a friendly voice behind her say. She turned, and saw George. Her knees got a little weak, just like they always did.  _He is really pulling off that pirate look. I wonder if I'm pulling it off. Maybe he thinks I look ridiculous._

"Well, my parents never really put any effort into stuff like Santa Claus and the tooth fairy, and I'm pretty screwed up. I figure Caleb deserves better."

He chuckled, "Screwed up is probably a little extreme." He said kindly, which made Zoe smile, "Your mom didn't mind that you couldn't come home?"

Zoe shrugged, "It's usually a big party with a lot of people I don't even know. It's not a big deal." He nodded, understandingly. He was really good at that, getting what she was saying. It was one of the reason's she was so crazy about him; he always seemed to understand her, "Speaking of mom's, I heard yours was in town. How's that going?"

He chuckled again, "Um, let's just say, you are not that only person to have a difficult relationship with their parents."

She could not help but laugh at that, "Good to know." Then, a thought occurred to her, "Hey, you and Lemon have probably been looking for a place to live, right? I mean, with the wedding coming up and all." The same nauseas feeling crept over her, the one that she always got when her and George were having a conversation and one of them brings up the wedding. She hated it, but it was a necessary evil. One, because it was relevant to what she wanted to ask him, and two, because it was a good reminder of why she could not be with George, preventing her from doing something stupid or getting her hopes up.

"Yeah," he started awkwardly. Could it be he felt as weird discussing the wedding with her as she did with him? Maybe she hadn't imagined it that day in her office. Maybe he was feeling what she was feeling too. _Slow down, Zoe_. She couldn't let herself get excited; it would just be setting herself up for more heartache. How was it that she had not even known George a year and he could get a stronger reaction from her than a guy she had been sleeping with for six? "We were awhile back, but we've sort of put that on the backburner. I got my place, and it'd be fine for Lemon to move into with us just startin' out. 'Sides, her family sort of needs her around right now, so." He shrugged.

Zoe's ears perked up at the words backburner, and she had to remind myself that he was talking about finding a place and that the wedding was right on schedule. "Right. Well, the reason I bring it up is, I may be in the market for a place, and I was wondering if maybe you knew of anywhere."

"You're thinkin' of movin'?"

"Yeah, the plantation has seemed a little … overcrowded recently."

He looked at her confused, but she did not want to go into. She just hoped that her lack of elaboration would cause him to move on, and as luck would have it, he did, "Well, I don't know of anything, but you could go talk to Babs Foster?"

"Who?"

"Babs Foster. She owns Babs Foster's Realty."

Zoe nodded, "Very on the nose name."

George laughed, "Yeah, I guess it is."

* * *

Wade could not believe it! George Tucker was flirting with Zoe! Right there, in front of the whole freaking town. How was nobody else noticing this? It was one thing for her to be all gaga about him, but he was actually encouraging it. What was he thinking? Wade had known George forever, and he had never had anything against him, but was he serious? Where was his fiancé anyway?

Wade decided he had to do something; he couldn't just stand there gaping at the spectacle that was somehow going completely unnoticed. Slowly, he made my way over.

"Howdy Tucker." he said casually. "Happy Planksgiving."

Zoe shot Wade a death glare, clearly not wanting to be anywhere near him at the moment, but he just pretended not to notice.

"Thanks. Same to you."

"So, where's Lemon?" There was no reason to beat around the bush. He may have been acting casual, but he didn't come here to chitchat.

"Off with the other Belles." He said it with a smile. He didn't even look uncomfortable. Wade knew George did not have a lot of practice in the dating department, but he had to know he had been flirting.

"Don't you think you should go find her?" He heard his voice get a little tense and tried to relax. This is just a casual conversation, Wade told myself.  _Yeah right._

George looked at him, confused, "Um, she'll kill me if I interrupt her girl time."

"Aw, come on man. I'm sure she won't mind. She's probably hopin' you'll interrupt and talk all mushy to her."

"She's the one who went off. And what's with the sudden interest?"

Wade shrugged. This was impossible and it was driving him crazy. He was done being subtle. Tucker had to know that he had been caught, and that what he was doing was not okay. "Nothin'. Just don't think you should be over here flirtin' while your fiancé is just around the corner."

George's eyebrows went up, surprised, "Excuse me?" he asked. His voice was somewhere between surprise and offense.

"Wade!" Zoe hissed.

Wade ignored her, "All I'm sayin' is, if you're gonna flirt, you should set up some secret meetin' place for you and the doc so Lemon doesn't catch wind of it. Seems kind of self-destructive otherwise."

"If you're implyin' that I have somethin' to hide from Lemon, that I'm behavin' any less than completely faithful to her-"

"Oh, I'm more than implyin' Golden Boy." Wade said, his voice was leaving the casual behind. He stepped closer to George, and he could feel the anger and the adrenaline. He really, really wanted to take a swing at him right now.

"Well, you don't have any right. I don't know why you would think that, but I have never, would never cheat on Lemon-"

"So it's okay to flirt and lead women on so long as you never do anythin' about it, is that it? Real classy George."

"What has gotten into you?"

"What's gotten into me is you're getting married soon, and you're standin' over here flirtin' up a storm!"

"How does that have anything to do with you?"

"Ha! So you admit it!"

"I didn't admit anything. I just don't know why I have to defend myself to you of all people against these bizarre accusations!"

" 'To me of all people?' What the hell does that mean?" he just kept getting angrier. He tried to keep his temper in check, but it wasn't easy.

"In means that my love-life is none of your business."

"No, see, I think you meant somethin' else."

"Like what?"

"Like, who am I to judge with how I treat women. Well, let me tell you somethin' Tucker, at least I'm upfront about my intentions, which is more'an I can say for you. I don't go around tryin' to seduce single women and keep a fiancé on the side."

"What the hell are you talkin' about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talkin' about. You want to have Lemon, a fiancé to play house with, but you need to outsource a tiny big city mistress so you can still play doctor."

As the argument escalated, each of them just kept getting angrier. Wade knew he had gone a little far; he didn't really know why. Maybe he was trying to rattle George's cage. Well, if that was the goal, it worked. More than worked in fact, because no sooner had Wade made the doctor comment then George punched him in the jaw. Wade fell to the ground, and when he got up, he saw George looking between his fists and Wade like he couldn't believe what he had just done.

"Wade, I'm sorry. I don't know-" Wade didn't let him finish, he just decked him, and he had to admit, despite how long they had been friends, it felt really good. Wade had wanted to punch George for a long time, ever since that night. He had refrained because he knew it was not George's fault that Zoe felt how she did. But maybe it was. He flirted with her; he should not be doing that. Of course, even if he didn't flirt, she might feel the same. It was quite possible that it wasn't George's fault at all. Still, Wade really wanted to beat him up, and George taking the first swing gave him the perfect excuse. Who knows, maybe him initiating it would help Zoe see that he wasn't some knight, that he was no better than the rest of them.

It's hard to tell how long it went on. They rolled around for a while, and then Brick, Lemon, a bunch of people all came to break it up. A few people asked what it was about, but neither George nor Wade was talking. They were both bruised up pretty bad though, meaning they needed to be looked at. George would go see Dr. Breeland, because of Lemon, which meant Wade was, unfortunately, stuck with Dr. Zoe Hart.  _Great._


	3. Chapter 3

 

If she played it back twenty times, Zoe still couldn't tell you how it had happened. George and her were having a perfectly nice conversation, then Wade comes over and acts like his usual, assish self, and next thing she knows, they're rolling around on the ground together.

Zoe went to get Wade's file as Addie helped him into the exam room. She did not really need to browse much; Wade had been in here before, and she remembered enough of his medical history, but it was better safe then sorry. When she came into the exam room, he was sitting there with that stupid, stubborn look on his face.

"Just for the record, the only reason I am doing this is because it is my duty as a doctor." Wade avoided her gaze.  _Fine, whatever._  She thought. He wanted to be mad at her, fine. She didn't care anymore, especially after what he just did. "What were you thinking, throwing down like that in the middle of the square?"

"If I recall correctly, Tucker took the first swing." He sounded annoyed. Well, that made two of them. Okay, he was beaten up, but that did not mean she was going to feel sorry for him. Nope, she was still mad.  _And I have every right to be_ , she reasoned. He did not get a free pass just because he was hurt. He deserved no sympathy from her. She would patch him up, and that was it. It changed nothing.

"He tried to apologize for that; you didn't even give him the chance. And he hit you once on instinct, because you kept baiting him. You are the one who turned it into a wrestling match."

Wade snorted, "You just can't help yourself, can you?"

"What?"

"Golden Boy does somethin' wrong, you start comin' up with a million excuses for him, because god forbid your precious George Tucker ever drops his saint status. "

"I'm not making excuses! It was one punch, which, again, he tried to apologize for the second it happened. You didn't have to - "

"What, I'm supposed to just sit back and let him hit me. Sorry, Doc, but that's not me, okay. I'm not a turn-the-other-cheek kinda guy. Somebody hits me, I'm gonna hit him back."

"As dumb as that is, you could have just hit him back once. You brought it up to a whole other level. You wouldn't let up; you just kept going after him."

"Tucker's a strong, healthy guy. He can hold his own. It's not like he's the only one'at got pummeled out there."

"Speaking of which, as stimulating as this conversation is, you're in this office for a reason. Now, my vision was sort of obstructed, and I'm guessing you want out of this room as much as I want you out. It'll save time if you tell me where your injuries are."

He just shrugged, "No big deal really, just a few bruises."

"Bruises can be more than bruises if you don't know what to look for. Besides, you have more than that. There's blood on your face, and some seeped through your shirt, so, that's gonna need to come off."

"If I take off mine, will you take off yours?"

Zoe scowled at him. Was he serious? After everything? After the stuff he said this morning?

He removed his shirt, and Zoe was a little surprised by what she saw. He was more banged up than she expected. Apparently George Tucker knew how to throw down. Who knew?

First, she got a cloth to clean the wounds. His face was the easier target for now. She would have to examine the bruises on his chest and check the damage, but his face was pretty straightforward.

As she leaned toward him, he jerked away, "It's just to clean the wound. Geez, don't be such a baby." She leaned forward again, and she could tell he was trying really hard not to move. He was like a statue or something, except that his eyes kept darting back and forth nervously. It didn't make any sense really. Wade had been in her office before, and he had never been a very jumpy patient. There were patients like that, but that wasn't Wade.

She started washing away the blood on his right cheek.

He winced, "Stings."

"Yeah, well, if you didn't get into a brawl, you wouldn't have to feel the stinging."

"You even know what a brawl is doc?"

It was the kindest tone he had used with her since the incident. Probably smart, considering she was in a position to do some serious damage if she wanted to. It was the kindness in his tone that caused her to meet his eyes for the first time, and she could not help but notice how intensely he was looking at her.

She felt him shiver a little, "Am I hurting you?" she asked it in a whisper. If you asked her, she couldn't tell you why she whispered; it was just something about the way he was looking at her. It felt like she was supposed to whisper.

"No."

There was a small smile forming on his lips, and it wasn't a teasing one. In fact, it was almost like he was fighting it, like he didn't want to smile, but the left side of his mouth just wasn't cooperating.

* * *

_Hm._  She thought he was backing away because of the cloth.  _Nope, sorry doc, that's another wrong answer for ya. It ain't the cloth, it's who's holdin' it._  He hadn't been this close to her since … well. And they certainly hadn't had any skin-to-skin contact. He tried to stay still, to not react. It was just a cloth to clean a wound, like she said.

She wasn't looking at him, and he could not tell if she was specifically avoiding looking at him, or just trying to focus on what she was doing. He could see her though, all up close and personal. Her head was bent, so he could smell her hair. Desperate, he tried to close off his nostrils.  _Just focus on the pain_  he told myself. He noticed his cheek starting to sting a little, which he tried to use as a distraction. When he mentioned it, and he had no clue why he had, she started chastising him again. It was hard not to find what she said funny. Whenever she tried to talk about something out of her element, she always tried to sound like she knew what she was doing, even when it was clear she didn't.

She met Wade's eyes then, and any resolve he had crumbled. She was too close, and he just couldn't pretend he didn't feel anything, much as he wanted to.

Wade tried to swallow, but there was a huge lump in his throat, not that it made much sense to swallow considering his throat was going drier than the Sahara. She kept rubbing at his cheek with that damn cloth, and for a second a part of her pointer finger touched his cheek; he could not help but shiver a little at the contact. It was sure to be an accident on her part. She probably didn't even notice. But it wasn't something _he_  could ignore. When she asked if she was hurting him, her tone was so kind, and she was looking at him with such concern, and a large part of him just wanted to forget everything and forgive her on the spot.

He felt himself start to smile at her, like he wanted her to know everything was cool, and that he was fine, and she didn't have to worry. None of that was true, of course, but it felt like it, in that moment. Or maybe he just couldn't help but smile because he was looking at her. She was so beautiful, and so close, and she smelled so good. No man was that strong. He knew he was out, that he had lost the battle with his pride, so he figured he would just give into it. Once this was over, and she wasn't so close, he knew my anger would return. It was too strong not too, and he was too stubborn to let it. Besides, being angry was a hell of lot better than just being hurt. Not to mention, if he let her off the hook, he'd just be putting himself in the same position all over again. So, no, Wade couldn't forgive her, but in this moment, right now, he could pretend it never happened, because he just wasn't strong enough for anything else. Besides, one thing he knew, the concern in her eyes was not for George Tucker; it was for him. That had to be enough for now.

* * *

"I don't want to interrupt the process, but any chance I could get a glass of water?" he asked.

"I think you are confusing our professions. You serve drinks, I work with wounds, remember?" his face fell a little, but then she smiled. "I'll go get you a cup. Sit tight."

Zoe was still furious with him. She was furious about what he had said this morning. She was furious about how he had been treating her lately. She was furious about him getting into a fight with George.

Still, this was the nicest he has been to her since "the incident," and it felt kind of good. There was no reason to not be civil right now.

She went to get a cup of water, and then noticed the other exam room was open. George was sitting there, and she didn't see Brick anywhere. Zoe knew she probably should not go in, but …

"Hey, how you holdin' up?" she asked. Yes, it went against her better judgment, and yes, she knew she was being stupid and torturing herself, but sometimes, you just can't stay away.

George smiled at her, that amazing, world series smile of his, and even with the bruises on his face, he still looked …  _get it together Zoe_.  _He's engaged, and injured, and not even your patient. I really shouldn't have come in here. Why did I come in here?_ She didn't even know why. Curiosity maybe? Or concern? Or maybe she was just a masochist. Given her choices of the past few months, Zoe thought that that was probably the correct answer.

"Considerin' I just got into a fight with one of my best friends on Planksgiving, not bad."

Zoe chuckled. He had such a good sense of humor, and a way of putting things in perspective.

"Sorry about that."

He looked at her confused, "Why are you sorry?"

Good question. Why was she sorry, "I just feel like it's sort of my fault somehow. I don't know what got into Wade. He-"

George put up his hand to stop her, "I threw the first punch. I have nobody to blame but myself."

"He kept baiting you. He clearly wanted to get into a fight with you, he was just looking for an excuse."

"Well, if that's true, I definitely gave him one, but I don't think it was as black and white as all that. Speakin' of which, think you could do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Could you apologize to Wade for me? I never exactly got to, and, I mean, I will myself in person, but I can't now, and I'd feel better if he knew I was sorry sooner than later."

Zoe nodded, "Of course. No problem. Anything specific you want me to say?"

"Just that I'm really sorry, and I don't know what got into me."

She nodded again. He was so considerate. She felt like a drooling teenager. Why was she so pathetic? Why couldn't she just get over him and get on with her life. Why did he have to be so … George Tucker? "So, um, is Brick treating you okay in here?"

"Well, I gotta say, it's not quite the same without somebody sticking me unexpectedly with a needle, but I guess no doctor is perfect." she smiled. "He just went to get something."

They were both quiet for a minute, "Well, I should get back. I'm really just supposed to be getting Wade a drink of water."

"Then why'd you stop in here?"

Good question. Zoe wracked her brain, "I saw you in here alone, and I guess I just … wanted to see how you were, make sure you were okay." It was a dumb reason, she knew, but she was pretty sure it was the truth, and if it wasn't, she knew she would need a psych expert to help he discover the real one.

He smiled, "Well, thank you Dr. Hart. I appreciate the concern."

"Just doing my job."

"Technically, I'm not your patient right now."

"Well, I guess I'm going a little outside the job description. Somebody recently pointed out to me the importance of neighbor helping neighbor, and, you know, this office is neighbor to mine, so…"

He smiled.

* * *

Wade tried to compose himself as he waited for her to return. He knew the second she got close to him, he would be lost again. Under different circumstances, he would just move away so he couldn't fall under her spell, but with her fixing him up that wasn't really an option.

"Hey." He looked up at her. God, she was beautiful. How was it that she could make doctor clothes look sexy?

She walked over to him, lifting a tiny Dixie cup to his lips. He jerked back slightly, "I can do it myself ya know."

Zoe rolled her eyes and put the cup down by him. He picked it up and gulped it down.

"Wow, when you said you were thirsty, you weren't kidding." She gave him a smile, which he returned, "Oh, I, um, I stopped in to see George." His smile disappeared. George. Right. Why did she have to ruin everything? "He wanted me to tell you how sorry he was, and that he doesn't know what got into him."

Wade rolled his eye, "Real classy."

"What?"

"Askin' you to apologize for him so he doesn't have to."

"He said he's going to as soon as he can, but he's not really in a position to right now, and he wanted you to know-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. What were you doin' talkin' to him anyway?"

"I was just checking in on him." Her voice was small, and her cheeks were a little pink. It would be cute if it weren't so fucking annoying.

Wade snorted, "He ain't your patient doc. He's got Brick to tend to all his little needs."

"I know, I just-"

"You just what?" he asked gruffly.

She paused, "I just wanted to make sure he was okay." She said quietly.

"It ain't your responsibility! God, why do you keep doin' this to yourself?"

"Doing what?"

"He's engaged Zoe."

"I know."

"Do you? Because sometimes, it seems like-"

"Not that it is any of your business, but believe me, I am one hundred percent aware that George Tucker is off the market!" then she added quietly, "I can't not be." He saw how sad she was, that look, so similar to the one she had had that night, and he had to remind himself that he was angry, and that she didn't give a crap about him. He wanted so badly to comfort her, to tell her it would all be okay, but he couldn't give into that impulse. He knew how it would end if he did, and he couldn't go there again. It hurt too much.

"Doc?"

"Hm?" she looked up, distracted.

"I know you got all this personal stuff goin' on, and you have my  _sincerest_  sympathies," he said that part sarcastically, and she shot him a look, "but I actually  _am_  here for my health, so-"

Zoe hopped up from where she had been sitting, "Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean-"

"Yeah, yeah, relax. I won't tell anyone. Hate to ruin your  _flawless_ perfect doctor reputation in this town."

She gave him a look, and he laughed.

"You are such an ass sometimes."

"It's part of my charm." Zoe rolled her eyes and headed back over to him.

She examined his face now that she had cleaned it up a little, "Well, other than a black eye, it's mostly cuts and scrapes. You're lucky in that department. Your chest, however, is another story."

"Yeah?" Wade asked, raising his eyebrow suggestively.

"That's not what I meant." She said, shaking her head. "Listen, I can only tell so much from sight. I mean, some bruises and scrapes are pretty obvious, but there may be some stuff beneath the skin, so-"

"You ain't plannin' on disectin' me, are ya doc?"

She ignored his attempt at humor, "I'm gonna press down on some areas, you just tell me if you feel anything."

Press down? Wade did not like the sound of that. He felt Zoe's hand on the area just above his stomach. He took a deep breath in and held it, trying not to react.

"Do you feel anything?"  _Yeah, lightheaded, woozy, incapable of breath,_  "Wade?"

"What?" he asked, trying to focus.

"I need to know what you're feeling right now." Loaded question, "Any pain?"

"I'm sorry?" He asked, confused.

"You know what? I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that if there had been something there would have been a reaction, but seriously Wade, if I'm going to get an accurate assessment of the damage, I need you to tell me if something hurts."

"Oh, right." Wade said, coming back to himself.

Zoe looked at him like he was crazy. She moved her hand to his other side, "Anything?"

"Nope," he said quickly, hoping the quicker he answered, the quicker this would be over, even though a part of him was saying that he should make it last as long as possible.

* * *

Honestly, Zoe was relieved to have the distraction. The last thing she needed was to waste more time thinking about George Tucker and the million reasons why he could never be hers. Wade was being his normal annoying, crude self, but as much as she hated to admit it, it was better than cold and distant.

She started to check the skin around his ribcage. It did not seem injured. There was no real bruising in that area, and the bones felt like they were right where they should be, but she had also felt Wade take a deep breath in when she touched him there, which could be a response to pain. Of course, it could also be a response to cold hands, or it could ne something else entirely. He didn't seem to hear when she asked him about the pain, and even when he did, he seemed kind of out of it, like he didn't really know what she was talking about.

She checked his stomach next, and while it was clear he had taken a few punches to the gut, there did not seem to be any real or permanent damage.

His chest was where the real blood and bruises were. Obvious injuries could mean a lower likelihood of less obvious injuries, but she had to be safe. First she had to clean it up though, unless she wanted either of them getting an infection. The bruises were pretty widespread, but the blood, despite how much there was, seemed to be coming from just one injury, which made her job easier. Still, it was a pretty serious cut, "How did this happen exactly?"

"What?" Wade asked. He seemed to have drifted off again.

"How did this happen?"

"Um, George Tucker and me got into it. I'm pretty sure you were there." He said patronizingly.

Zoe rolled her eyes, "I meant this," she gestured to the wound, "I don't care how strong or skilled George is in a fight, that is not the sort of injury you can get from a fist."

"Oh, I uh, I think I got thrown into somethin'." He said as he tried to remember, "I don't know what exactly. Maybe a part of a ship or somethin' like that."

Zoe nodded, "Hm. Maybe Planksgiving isn't so safe after all."

"Well, if nobody starts smashin' you into things, it's just a party."

Zoe wanted to bring up how Wade wasn't exactly innocent in what had happened, but she knew if she did, Wade would accuse her of protecting George again, and she really did not want to get into all of that with him.

"Well, other than that, you don't have anything really serious, just a few bruises and scraped. I mean, I wouldn't recommend making this a usual thing, but they'll heal up on their own, and hopefully you'll learn a valuable lesson. In the meantime, I'm going to give you something mild for the pain. Then I just have to stitch up that," she pointed, and you'll be good to be."

"Why is it I always need stitches when I come in here?"

"Maybe you just need to be less reckless."

"Right, because takin' out the trash for work is livin' the crazy life." She couldn't help but chuckle. Wade shot her a smile, "Well, I guess we should just get this over with. Any chance I can have those pain pills now?"

"Don't be such a baby. Besides, they aren't going to get rid of the pain, just help it seem less intense. If I get you the ones that get rid of the pain, there's a risk of addiction, so we only give those out in extreme circumstances."

"Risk for me, or in general?"

"Well, it isn't like we could get a bunch of Wade clones and test how they react, so, I'd say it's probably people in general."

She started on the stitching, and for a second, she flashed back to the last time she had stitched Wade up; her first Bluebell heat wave. It was an embarrassing memory to say the least. She had been so, well, horny. The was no sugar coding it. Sure, she could use some fancy word like concupiscent to make it sound more sophisticated, but at the end of the day, she had to admit she had been just plain horny. She had also been so clearly out of her mind, having daydreams about Wade all wet and shirtless, and getting caught up in the feel of his well muscled chest, despite the fact that she had been touching it in a professional capacity. She was slightly disgusted with herself for having got caught up in all of that, and had been so relieved that she had not done anything stupid when it was over. The fact that she had even considered doing anything just proved that heat waves made people beyond insane. It was the only explanation for her behavior then. Except …

Zoe had gone farther with Wade, and it had not been during a heat wave, and no alcohol involved. It was ironic. The heat wave tempted her, but nothing had happened, alcohol only induced an ill-advised make-out session, but sober, non-heat wave Zoe had almost gone to bed with Wade recently, and as much as she hated to admit it, she knew that if he had not stopped it, she would have gone through with it.

She still had no clue what she had been thinking. Well, that was not true. She knew what she had been thinking. She had been thinking about how she was in love with George Tucker and she knew nothing was ever going to happen, and Wade was being so kind and comforting, and she had felt attracted to him, first to his scent, and then after things had progressed to his bare chest. The same chest she was touching now. She remembered how during the heat wave, when she had let her fingers linger, Wade had caught her, and called her on it. The memory caused her to blush slightly.

"Wade." He made a noise in acknowledgement, "I'm … I just want you to know that I'm sorry." She knew she was being stupid, playing with fire bringing things up when they were sort of getting along, but she might not get the chance again. He had an open wound; he couldn't leave until she finished the stitching, and she knew she would regret not taking advantage of the opportunity.

"You're just doin' you're job. 'Sides, doesn't hurt too bad."

"No, I meant – I'm talking about that night, when we almost-"

"Yeah." Wade said quickly, cutting her off. He seemed to be reverting back to his recent attitude.

"I know I never apologized, but, I am sorry. Earlier, when I said I didn't do anything wrong, it wasn't, I didn't … I know I did something wrong. I just thought if I got you angry enough you might talk to me."

He gave a small chuckle. It was a little dry, a little angry and hurt, but it was there. "That was your master plan, huh?"

"Well, it worked – you know, sort of." She looked away from him.

Wade sighed, "So, what did you do wrong exactly?" Zoe looked at him, confused, "You said you know you did somethin' wrong. What was it?"

"Is this like, some sort of test or something?"

"Could be."

She thought for a minute. Should she answer? And how could she if she did? "Well, I – I mean, I said – I …" she just didn't know how to say it, "I said, while we were, I said-"

"Yeah, yeah, okay, you can relax doc. You don't have to say it."

"I am sorry." Wade nodded, "I mean, I'm still a little confused, but-"

"Confused?"

"Well, it's just, I know I'm not the only girl who ever did that with you, but as far as I can tell, and as far as Lavon can remember, I'm the only one who ever got kicked out."

"Lavon's got a big mouth."

"I just can't figure out why you would do that with me when you never did with anybody else."

"Yeah, it's a real head-scratcher." Wade said sarcastically, "Take a genius to connect those dots."

"Well, whatever the reason, I am sorry. I didn't mean-"

"It's fine." Wade snapped.

"Your tone kind of contradicts your words there."

"Okay, you're right. It's not fine. It's not fine at all. And how long does it take to put in a few stitches?"

She did not appreciate him yelling at her. Zoe did something she had never done before, and she wasn't proud of it, but she pulled a little harder than necessary on the stitch she was working on, "Ow! What the hell?"

"Sorry." She said, using her most sincere sounding fake apologetic voice.

Wade rolled his eyes, "Right, sure you are."

"I am."

"You think I can't tell when you're bein' fake by now, doc?"

"What, after a couple months?"

"You're not as hard to figure out as you think."

"Well," she said after a few minutes, "You're all set. Try to stay out of fist fights from now on, especially ones near wooden planks and anchors."

"Whatever you say doc." Wade said, picking up his shirt. It was pretty torn and bloody, but it was all he had.

"We have some spares if you want to borrow." Zoe offered.

He looked up, "Spares?"

"Shirts. Just until you can get that one cleaned and sewed … or thrown out. Your call."

Wade nodded, "Sure. Why not?" he sounded irritated, but Zoe tried to ignore it. She got out one of the spares. It should fit Wade. She knew around what size shirt he wore; that happened when you shared a laundry room with someone.

"Here." she said, tossing it to him.

"Thanks." He started to put it on, wincing a little.

"You okay?" he raised an eyebrow at her, "Sorry, I just meant … here, let me help."

"I can dress myself." He mumbled as she headed over.

"I know, but you're injured. Come on." Wade rolled his eyes, but Zoe was stubborn, and he knew it, so he let her help him on with his shirt. "There you go." She said, looking up at him. She took in a breath, surprised; she had not realized that she was standing so close to him, though considering she had been helping him dress, it should not have come as such a surprise. A lump formed in her throat and she swallowed it quickly. Her eyes locked with his, and there were so many emotions swimming in them she felt completely lost. One thing she did recognize, though, was a longing, a lust. The intensity of his gaze made her face heat up and she gulped. She opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it, unsure of what to say. His tongue darted out, licking his lips, and she knew what he was thinking. It made her feel strange, woozy even, "I…" she tried again, feeling her mouth dry up, "You, um, you sh-should-" she felt his hand cup her cheek, stroking it with his thumb, which then began tracing her lips. Her breathing was becoming shallower and she felt her eyes close as she leaned into his touch.

"Dr. Hart?" her eyes snapped open at the sound of Brick's voice. Wade was no longer standing there. How much of that had actually happened? Had she imagined it? "Are you all right?"

Zoe nodded, "Yeah, I just, um, I'm fine." She said, trying to sound as in control as possible. Brick nodded and walked on past her door. What the hell had just happened? How much of that was real? And if it wasn't real at all, where had it come from?

* * *

Wade was breathing heavily as he leaned against the door to the practice, trying to calm his heart rate. He still wasn't sure exactly what had happened in there, but whatever it was, he was glad to be away from it.

What was wrong with that girl, helping him on with his shirt? Was she insane? Her fingers were finally off his body, he was finally able to start clearing his head, and she decides to help him put a shirt on. True, trying to get the thing on had been slightly painful, but nowhere near as painful as having her stand so close to him and not being able to reach for her. He felt like he had spent the past hour with Zoe Hart's hands on him in one way or another, but he hadn't got to touch her at all. None of this was fair.

When she had been stitching him up, she had been so cool and collected, in total doctor mode. She didn't seem to notice how he shivered at her touch, how hard he was trying to calm his hormones. After she had helped him with his shirt, however, was a completely different story. She had looked up at him and he had seen it in her eyes. It was a look he knew well because it mirrored his own. She wanted him in that moment, and he had so badly wanted to comply. She was begging him to kiss her, standing so close with that look in her eyes, her lips slightly parted. He licked his lips, unable to keep the memory of how she tasted from his mind. It would be so easy to just lean in and kiss her. He could tell she wanted it. He knew she would let him. But he just couldn't. He couldn't be that for her, a sexual release, a second choice. George Tucker was lying in the next room, and for all Wade knew, she was thinking of him again. She had just been saying how painfully aware she was of that fact that she could never be with George. If he kissed her now, best-case scenario, she would let him because she was turned on right now, worst case scenario, she would let him because she was picturing he was George Tucker. Either way, it would be over to quickly, and then it would just be a memory, another moment she would swear him to secrecy about because she was ashamed of it, and of him. She started to say something, and he could hear the nervous quiver in her voice as she spoke. She looked down, away from him, and Wade forced himself to move. He left the spot he was in, trying to keep his eyes off her as she looked at the ground, her eyes closed and her body shivering. He hadn't thought he'd survive, but he had. He had made it out in one piece. Well, basically.

He had just about gotten his breathing under control when he heard the click-clack of heels on a sidewalk. He looked up and saw Lemon Breeland heading for the practice.

She looked upset, understandably, and when she saw Wade her eyes widened and changed to those of anger.

"Wade Kinsella, how dare you beat up my fiancé!"

_Oh great_. This was just what he needed, "The beating up was fairly mutual Lemon. And for the record, George took the first swing."

"George would never do that."

Wade let out an exasperated groan, "No, of course not. What was I thinking? I mean, I was there, so I know he hit me first, but I must have been having hallucinations complete with the physical symptoms and all because that is far more believable than the possibility that Golden Boy Tucker could ever do anything remotely wrong, or screw up, or hurt somebody. Because, I mean, he is completely perfect in every way possible, and he never does anything wrong. He's the perfect human bein'. Actually, he is so perfect he's not even human. He's the second coming. He's gonna save the world just by bein' nice to everybody and smilin' until all the girls are weak in the knees. No, he couldn't possibly have hit me first." Wade growled and maneuvered around Lemon and walked down the stairs.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Lemon stared after Wade, wondering what the hell had gotten into him. Wade knew Lemon, and he knew she was a force to be reckoned with, especially when she was upset and angry, which she currently was. He was too smart to explode at her, yelling and fuming like he had was practically suicide. She would have killed him if she hadn't been so shocked.

The bell dinged as Lemon pushed the doors open and ran into the room. Why was George ending up in the doctor's office so much lately, what with the car accident, the crossbow incident, and now this? Lemon did not like this one bit.

"George, sweetheart, are you all right? What happened? I heard Wade -"

"Lemon, relax, okay, I'm fine. I promise. It's just a few bruises. Your dad fixed me right up." He gave her a reassuring smile.

"Oh thank god." She threw her arms around him. He winced a little, "Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

"George Tucker, don't you dare put on a brave face for me. If something is wrong, if you are in pain-"

"Lemon, I told you I'm fine."

"I swear, I could just kill that Wade Kinsella."

Lemon noticed George take a deep breath, "Lemon, it wasn't exactly Wade's fault."

"You're sweet sweetheart, but you don't have to defend his actions."

"Except it wasn't his action." Lemon looked at George, confused, "Lemon, I started the fight. I threw the first punch."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know, I just, he was just sayin' these things and I … I just lost it."

"Well, what kind of things was he sayin'?" George was silent, "George?"

"I … I don't remember. I just remember gettin' angry."

"But … but that's so unlike you."

"Well, maybe you don't know me as well as you think."

"What's that supposed to mean?" George was silent again, "George? I asked you a question."

"Just … just forget it."

"Forget what? I feel like I'm only hearin' half the conversation, which is particularly strange because I'm one of the people havin' it."

"Just let it be, okay. Please."

"Let what be?"

He let out something that seemed like it was between a sigh and a groan, "Look, your dad put me on some pain pills, and I'm a little tired. Could we maybe talk about this later." Before she could answer, he closed his eyes.

She made her way out of the practice stunned. First Wade shows some major balls when she knows he is smart enough to be scared of her, then George admits to starting a fight and erupts at her about god knows what. She felt like she had entered some alternate universe.

She was so lost in thought, she didn't see Lavon until she had practically run him over, "Oh, I'm sorry, Lavon, I, don't know-"

"It's fine." He said kindly.

She gave him a weak, grateful smile. "What're you doin' here?"

"I heard about the fight; I wanted to check on Wade, and find out what got into his head in the first place."

"Good luck. Seems like the whole town has gone crazy today."

"That implies that this town was ever sane." Lemon chuckled a little, but her eyes still glistened with tears that she refused to spill, "Lemon, you okay?" she looked down embarrassed, "That's a stupid question. Of course you're not okay. You're fiancé just got beaten up."

She shook her head, "That's not it." Lavon didn't say anything. She figured he was waiting for her to continue. Trying to calm herself, she looked up into his deep, caring eyes, "I think George is mad at me. And I don't know what I did." A tear fell down her cheek. She tried to blink it back, "I've just tried so hard to be perfect for him, but what if I'm just not good enough." Lavon didn't say anything, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be talkin' to you about this. What with … it's not very considerate of me."

Lavon shook his head, "Lemon, you can always come to me." she smiled at him. He was so kind. And suddenly, she realized how ridiculous it was to hold back the tears. It was not as though Lavon had never seen her cry. In fact, he was one of the only people who ever had. For some reason, she felt like she could be broken around Lavon, and it would be okay. He would see the shattered statue on the floor, and instead of trashing it or walking away, he would pick it up and try to put it back together. She started crying then, and then Lavon was holding her. He held her tight in his arms, stroking her back and soothing her. She had missed being in his arms so much. She missed how safe he made her feel, how loved. She never wanted him to let her go.

* * *

Wade had hoped he could just collapse in his bed and try to forget today had happened. No such luck though. When he walked into the gatehouse, he saw a large bulge under the blanket on his bed. Great, just great. It wouldn't be the first time some girl snuck in to seduce him or something, but he was so not in the mood.

He made his way to the bed and the blanket moved. Then, to his surprise, Lilah pulled the covers off herself and sat up, "Bout time you got here. Where've you been anyway? I fell asleep waitin' on your lazy ass." Then she took a closer look at him, "Whoa, who'd you piss off?"

"What're you doin' here Lilah?"

"Well, I was sittin' home, bored out of my mind, thinkin', what would entertain me, and then I remembered a certain guy who swore he would never fall for anyone and a certain girl's name he called out." Wade looked at her, confused, "I'm here to meet Zoe idiot. I want to see this mystical creature that got you under such a spell."

"And you thought she'd be here?"

"Well, all I have to go on is a first name, so I thought I'd pester you 'til you told me where to find her. I figure if I stay long enough, eventually you'll crack." Wade snorted, "Hey, I am a force to be reckoned with. You forget, I know all you're secrets Wade Kinsella, like what music makes your ears bleed and what perfumes make you feel like you're chokin'. I can smoke you out. Just you wait."

"Yeah, well, good luck with that." he said, getting up and heading for the door, "Where you goin'?"

"What, like I'm gonna stick around and indulge this little tantrum you're throwin'. Sides', I got somethin' to take care of." He looked out the window at George Tucker's truck, which was clearly heading for the main house.

* * *

Once Brick gave George a clean bill of health and said he was safe to head home, George had tried to call Lemon. He figured he should apologize. Only, she didn't pick up. Well, he could talk to her later. Right now, he had a way bigger apology to make.

It didn't take long to get to the plantation. He was barely out of his car when he spotted Wade heading for him.

"Wade. Good, you were just who I wanted to talk to."

"Come to hit me again?" Wade asked.

"No. I came to apologize."

Wade crossed his arms over his chest defensively, "Right, yeah, Zoe told me you were gonna do that."

"Look, Wade, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have hit you."

"I don't care." Wade said with a shrug.

"What?"

"I said I don't care. In fact, I'm glad you hit me. Finally get some rust on that damn shinin' armor of yours."

"If you're tryin' to provoke me, it's not gonna work. I'm not gonna hit you again."

"Is that what you think I was tryin' to do? You think the fight was my fault?"

"Well, not completely. In fact, initially, not at all, but I've been thinkin' ever since Zoe brought it up and-"

Wade started laughing mirthlessly, "You talked to Zoe? And she put that idea in your head did she? Of course."

"What does Zoe have to do with anything?"

"Come on, Tucker, your memory is not that short. Zoe is what this whole thing was about! Well, Zoe and Lemon."

"You gonna start talkin' in riddles again like you did in town today?"

"No. No riddles. I thought I made my point, but if you want I will spell it out until it is perfectly clear." Wade paused, and when he started to speak again, he drew out each word, making sure George did not miss a thing, "I am accusin' you of leadin' Zoe Hart on when you have absolutely no intention of callin' off your impendin' nuptials."

"Well, well that's just ridiculous." George sputtered, "Zoe and I are just friends."

Wade shrugged, "Really?" George nodded, "Well then answer me this. That night you shot yourself in the leg, what were you doin' with Zoe?"

"What?"

"Come on, it's not that hard a question. Think back a few weeks. It's the middle of the night and you and Zoe are alone together at her house. What were you doin' there?"

"I … I gave her a lift home."

"From?"

"From Mobile. She took the bus so she didn't have a car with her, so I figured since I was there-"

"Where?"

"What?"

"Since you were where?"

"In Mobile."

"With Zoe?"

George shook his head, gesturing dismissively, "No, it wasn't like that. We just happened to bump into each other."

"You just happened to bump into each other?" George nodded, "Where?"

"In Mobile."

"Yeah, I know, but where? Mobile's a big place George."

"At a Woody Allen film festival."

"So, a theatre?"

"Yeah."

"Where at the theatre, coming out of the movie, in the actual theater-"

"At the ticket booth."

"You two go in together? Sit together?"

George chuckled awkwardly, "Well, you know, people 'round here aren't all that fond of Woody Allen. It was a pretty barren theatre."

"And then when the movie was over you just, what, offered to give her a lift back to Bluebell?"

"Well, actually we …"

"You what? Sorry, I didn't catch that."

"Well, we were talkin', and she was a little put out about that whole mess with Judson so I offered to buy her a cup of coffee, but, you know, she wanted wine."

"So you went and got drinks at a bar?"

"Well, it was around dinner time, so it made more sense to just go eat. Have wine with dinner."

Wade nodded, "So, let me get this straight." He put up his hand and started counting off on his fingers like he was marking some checklist, "You went into a theatre, together, sat together, watched the movie together, walked out together, went and had dinner together, which if I know you, you paid for, and then you gave her a ride back to her place?" George nodded uncomfortably, "Well, I'm no expert, bein' a fan of the one-night-stand myself, but that sounds a hell of a lot like a date George."

"It wasn't a date. It was just a string of coincidences that happened to add up to something that to the untrained eye could look like, but in fact was not, a date."

Wade nodded, "Uh-huh. Okay. And did you ever tell Lemon about this 'string of coincidences?' "

"I didn't think it was necessary."

"Sure. Just like it wasn't necessary to tell her about what happened just before that gumbo contest."

"Hey, I told Lemon about that!" George said defensively, "How, how do you even know about that?"

"Does it matter? Not like you're hidin' anythin', right?"

"I'm not."

"Because that wasn't a date. And you didn't ask Zoe to keep quiet about whatever happened between you two the day she saved that guy's arm. And it's not like when you met Zoe you put off tellin' her you were engaged. Or like you're always flirtin' up a storm with her."

"Will you stop?"

"Yeah, sure, I'll stop, if you'll just admit it. 'Cause the whole town might be blind to it, but I'm not. See, one of two things is goin' on here. Either you have a thing for Zoe Hart, or you can tell Zoe Hart has a thing for you and you just like the attention, and quite frankly, I'm not sure which one makes you a bigger asshole."

"I don't, I haven't-"

"George, you don't think I know what stringin' a girl along looks like, okay, I've done it a million times. I was just never  _engaged_  when I did it."

"You were married."

"That's not the same thing and you know it; what Tansy and I had wasn't a real marriage, okay, it was barely a relationship. You, on the other hand, have been with Lemon for fifteen years, and you asked her to marry you and she said yes, so unless you plan on askin' for the ring back, you need to make some changes, the first of which is bein' honest with yourself."

* * *

"Hello? Wade?" Zoe looked around, but she didn't see him anywhere. She was going to leave when she heard a toilet flush, "Wade?"

Wade didn't come out of the bathroom though. A girl did. Probably one of his fun sex toys. The girl was tall, with long wavy auburn hair and a well-developed figure. Yep, definitely one of Wade's sex toys.

"He's not here," the girl said, crossing her arms over her chest, "You're welcome to wait though."

"Thanks, I'd rather not."

"Oh, please don't tell me your one of the ones who actually thinks he wants to commit, 'cause those girls are idiots." The girl said rolling her eyes.

Zoe's face flushed, "I am not one of Wade's girls! I am his doctor. I'm just here to drop off a prescription, that's it. Like I would ever-"

"Wait, you're a doctor?" Zoe nodded, "I heard about you. You're Harley Wilkes daughter right?"  _Oh Geez,_  Zoe thought. She had thought the novelty had worn off by now.

"Could you just give these to Wade, please?"

The girl shrugged, "Give them to him yourself. He's just over at the main house talking to George."

_Oh no,_ "I'm sorry, did you say Wade's with George? As in, alone with him?"

"Yeah, so?"

Zoe's face paled a little, but she tried not to freak out, "I've gotta get over there before it becomes bigger than just pain pills." Zoe headed for the door quickly.

"What's the big deal about them bein' alone together?"

"Well, considering that the last time they were in the same room punches were thrown and blood was spilt-"

"You're sayin' George gave Wade those bruises?"

"And he may give him worse if I don't get over there. Lovely chatting with you."

The girl shrugged indifferently, but when Zoe reached for the door, she called out, "Wait?"

"What now?" she almost yelled. Did this girl not understand what a medical emergency was?

"Your name wouldn't by any chance be Zoe, would it?"

"Yeah, so?"

The girl's face turned from indifferent to triumphant. She had a mischievous gleam in her eye, "So you're the famous Zoe?"

"Yes, I'm Harley's daughter, we've been over this."

"I could care less about whose daughter you are, except that it might have saved me a little time if I knew Zoe and Harley Wilkes daughter were the same person."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You're a little shorter than I expected, and Wade usually goes for blondes, but, I don't know, I guess I can see it."

Something clicked in Zoe's head. This girl was talking about her like ...

"What exactly did Wade tell you about me?" she said nervously.

The girl shrugged again, but that mischievous glint was still in her eye, "Oh, not much. But more than enough. It has been a pleasure. And here I thought I would have to resort to  _Barbie Girl_ to meet you." Zoe looked at her, more confused than ever, "I should get goin', but tell Wade he's off the hook, and Zoe, I look forward to seein' you again." she started walkin' past a frozen Zoe, "Uh, don't you have a potential physical confrontation to breakup?"

"Oh crap." Zoe said, seemingly coming back to her senses.

* * *

"Come on Tucker, just, admit it. You'll feel so much better if ya do." Wade's tone was icy, but he was sick of all this shit. George saying nothing was going on, Zoe saying they were just friends, George being with Lemon and Zoe almost with him and now with Judson … It was just too much. At the very least, George would stop giving Zoe false hope. Wade knew George; ethics mattered to him. If he admitted to himself that he was doing something wrong, he would do everything in his power to stop.

Of course, there was the other option. The possibility that he would pick Zoe. But as sick as the thought made Wade, it was better than what was going on with them now. At least George would be single. He didn't even know why he cared anymore. Zoe was into George and not him, and George being upfront about things was not going to change that. He just couldn't watch any more of this stringing along business. And if George was doing the same as Zoe, then Lemon was in a similar position to him. Wade might not be Lemon's biggest fan, but she didn't deserve that.

Before George could say anything, the reason for their conversation came running over. How the hell did she not trip in those crazy heels of hers?

"Oh thank god," she said, slowing down and trying to catch her breath.

"Zoe, you okay?" George asked. He made to approach her, but Wade's snort seemed to be enough to stop him.

"I'm fine. It's you guys I was worried about. Why do you think I ran over here?"

"Uh, 'cause you're mentally disturbed?"

Zoe shot him a look, "I go to my patient's place to drop off a prescription, and I find out said patient is alone with the guy who got him landed in my office in the first place. And vice-versa."

"What, you thought we were just gonna throw down?"

"Well, you did it at a festival with pointy objects and impressionable children around, so I see no reason you wouldn't when you're alone in an open space."

"I, uh, actually have to get goin'." George interrupted.

Zoe turned to him, "Okay, well, drive safe." He nodded. As soon as George was out of sight, Zoe turned to Wade. She no longer looked concerned or out of breath. She looked pissed, and slightly panicked, "What did you tell that girl about me?" Okay, well, that was out of nowhere.

"What? What are you-?"

"Slutty Amazonian chick at your place who for some reason is  _so_  eager to meet me. What did you tell her?"

"You mean Lilah?"

"Whatever. Why does she know who I am, and why was she commenting on how you usually go for blondes while she was sizing me up?"

"Probably 'cause I usually go for blondes." Wade said coldly. He had been confused at first, but now he was catching up. It was not that hard to connect the dots.

"You're not funny. Did you tell her about," Zoe's voice dropped to a whisper, "Did you tell her what happened between us?"

"Don't really know what you're referin' to Doc." He said bitterly.

"Don't be an asshole. Bruises or not, I will hit you."

"I'm just askin' you to be a little more specific is all."

"That night when we almost … you know."

Wade nodded, "Well, it's not like there's much to tell there, since nothin' actually ended up happenin'."

"That's not an answer." Wade stayed quiet. Let her think what she wants, "Who else have you told?"

She always assumed the worst of him, didn't she, "What'sa matter Doc, 'fraid it'll get back to Golden Boy?"

"People in this town think little enough of me as it is, if they found out I almost … with you, how do you think that'd make me look?"

Wade felt his anger building, that same anger that he was becoming so familiar with lately. His face-hardened, "Yeah. Goin' to bed with me totally trash your reputation. Can't have it gettin' around that you hooked up with the guy who serves drinks at the local watering hole."

"I'm more concerned about people finding out I almost hooked up with the local playboy. I don't want people thinking I'm that easy or gullible, or, well, just plain stupid enough to fall for your tricks."

"You think I have to trick girls into bed? 'Cause, if memory serves, the night you're referrin' to is somethin'  _you_ initiated."

"Hey, I'm not looking for a fight here-"

"Coulda fooled me."

"But you have to admit, the girls you hook up with aren't exactly rocket scientists."

"Yeah, they're not lawyers either. Guess that gives us somethin' in common." He spat.

"Don't you have some slut to go screw? You hurry, you might catch the Amazonian before she leaves."

"Her name's Lilah, okay, and she wasn't here for that." Zoe scoffed, "Of course that's what you'd assume though. I'm just the good time guy. People come over, use me, and leave. You know, there's more to me than that, and for the record, I known Lilah since I was a kid. We used to play together."

"So, what, you've never slept with her?" Zoe asked skeptically.

Wade shrugged, "Course I have. It's not like we can play together like we did as kids. We gotta do somethin'."

"You're disgusting"

"Like this is news! Face it, your opinion of me was set the second you met me! You saw some moronic cowboy with a guitar and two dancin' girl's and that's all you're ever gonna see! It's like I'm just some old backscratcher or somethin'; people think they can just come over, use me on their itch, and leave! Apparently, that's all anyone wants from me! All anyone thinks I'm good for! Obviously all  _you_  think I'm good for!"

"Since when do you even care?"

He didn't know why he did it just then. He was just so mad, so sick of all her assumptions of the kind of guy he was. He grabbed her, pulled her to him, and kissed her. It wasn't a nice kiss. It wasn't sweet or simple. It was rough, full of frustration and bottled rage.

It only lasted a couple seconds before she started to struggle out of his grasp. He just held her tighter to him, trying to get her to reciprocate like she had so many times before. She kept trying to pull away though, so finally, he let her. The second she was free, she slapped him. Hard, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Don't you all ready have a list a mile long answerin' your own question?"

"You can't just … after everything that's happened over the past month or, hell, over the last twenty-four hours, you can't just kiss me like that."

"Why not? It's all I'm good for, ain't it? You might as well make use of me."

"Even if that were true, you forcing me to kiss you is not making use of you. I tried to push you away; don't pretend you didn't notice, because that is exactly when your grip tightened."

"Yeah, for like, fifteen seconds. Not like I held you hostage or anythin'."

"That's not the point. You don't treat a woman like that."

"Bet you wouldn't of minded if it was Tucker." Wade barked.

"Why do you always bring everything back to George?"

"You're the one who brought him into this in the first place! Or have you forgotten?"

"I said I was sorry!"

"Yeah, and that makes it all better doesn't it?"

"God, you are infuriating! I don't even know what you're so mad about! It's not like I … you know what, forget it. I take back my apology. I am not sorry! I am glad! I am glad that that happened because it prevented me from making a huge mistake with the biggest asshole I've ever met!"

"Yeah, well, somehow, I think it's better to go for the single asshole than the engaged one!"

"George isn't an asshole, and nothing's ever even happened with us and … Gaahhh. God, why am I even still talking to you?"

She started to storm off. "Fine, why don't you just go cryin' to Tucker 'bout what an asshole I am!" he called after her.

"Maybe I will." She spit back.

* * *

Zoe was fuming as she made the trek back to her carriage house. Where did he get off? He thinks he can kick her out of bed, treat her like Typhoid Mary, start a fight with George, tell some girl how they almost hooked up, yell at her venomously, and then grab her and kiss her? And on top of that, not let her go when she clearly wanted nothing more than for him to back off? Okay, maybe she didn't know for a fact that he told that girl what almost happened with them, but everything else was one hundred percent true. In what universe was it okay to do those things?

When she reached her front porch, she was surprised to see George sitting there.

"I thought you left."

He looked up at her, like he was surprised she would show up at her own house, "I did. Well, I started to. I got in my truck and I was drivin' around, but, Wade said some things and I couldn't quite get them out of my head so … I figured we should talk."

_Holy crap. What had Wade said to him?_  She had never wanted to strangle Wade Kinsella more than she did right now. Acting as composed as she could manage, she unlocked the door and motioned for George to come in.

"Do you want something to eat? I mean, I usually eat in the main house, so I don't have much, but I have some old candy?"  _Old candy? What is wrong with you Hart? Could possibly have said a stupider thing?_

"No, I'm, uh, I'm good. Thanks though."

Zoe settled on the couch, and motioned for George to sit on the chair, "So, what did you want to talk about?" she asked nervously. He seemed nervous too. He was sweating a lot. How was it possible that he was cute when he was sweating? How can sweat be cute? God, she was so screwed. Well, what else is new?

"Um, Zoe, we're, you and me, we're friends, right?" Zoe nodded. George took a deep breath. She waited for him to continue, but he didn't.

"Was that it?"

He shook his head and scrunched his eyes closed. It looked almost like he was in pain, "George, are you okay? Is something wrong? Does something hurt?"

"No, no don't worry. Physically I'm fine."

"What do you mean  _physically_  you're fine?"

He shook his head, then stood, "I shouldn't have come here tonight. I don't know what I was thinkin'. I'll … I'll let myself out. Sorry to bother you."

Something in her told her not to let him leave, "Wait!" she said, jumping up from the couch. He turned to her expectantly. Crap. She hadn't actually thought of something to follow wait with.

So, she did the only thing she could think of. She walked up to him until she could see his eyes. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. George's eyes looked sad, confused, regretful, almost hopeless. "George, if something's wrong, if there's something you need to talk about, you know you can confide in me, right?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I know."

"I'm serious. If you need someone to talk to, I'll be here for you."

He nodded again, "You're a really great friend Zoe."

"Am I though?" he looked at her, caught off guard.  _Crap, did I just say that out loud?_

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. Forget it. I shouldn't have said anything." He was looking at her so intently, and all of Wade's accusations kept swimming in her brain. She didn't even realize what she was doing until it was too late. By the time her brain caught up to her body, she had already pressed her lips to George's. She expected him to push her away, tell her he was engaged, and how dare she. But he didn't. Instead, his right hand went up to her cheek. She felt how gently he cupped it, so kind, so George. His left arm went around her waist and pulled her towards him. What had started as a peck was turning into so much more. The kisses were becoming hungrier. There was this feeling Zoe had that she couldn't quite explain. If she had to describe it, she probably would have said it felt like the world was ending tonight, like this was the last shot she would ever get before everything collapsed around them, and she wanted to get everything she could out of it.

Then, just as quickly as it started, it was over. She wasn't sure which one of them had stopped it, which one had come to their senses first. But they had. Reality set in, and both their eyes widened, realizing what they had just done.

"Oh my god." George said, his voice horrified. He shook his head, "That did not just happen."

"George, I am so sorry, I don't know what I …"

"How the hell did that just happen? That cannot have happened? How-"

"George, you're freaking out!"

"Aren't you?"

"Of course, but of the two of us, you tend to be the more sane one!"

"You're right. You're right, I just. I need to calm down, look at the situation logically." George said, putting his hands on either side of his face to indicate focus. He tried to calm his breathing.

"I am so sorry George."

George shook his head and gestured dismissively, "Don't be, don't be, it was … I mean, it was both of us."

"Yes, but I'm the one who-"

"Zoe stop, this isn't you're fault okay. All right, I am the one who is engaged, not you; I am the one who should have known better. I never should have come here tonight. I never should have come to see you." he leaned against the walls by the door, and sunk down to a sitting position, "God, Wade was right. I am an asshole."

Zoe came and sat next to him, "No you're not."

"I'm pretty sure I am. I mean, I just cheated on Lemon, and with, and please don't be offended by this, but I cheated on Lemon with the one person she hates most in the world. Oh, this is bad, this is very, very bad."

"No, no it's not." George looked up, "I mean, I doesn't have to be. Because, it was my fault, and it was just one time. And as long as it never happens again …" Zoe trailed off.

After a minute, George spoke, "Right. Of course, you're right. I'll just explain to Lemon-"

Zoe's eyes widened, "Explain to, are you crazy!" she sputtered.

"Well, I can't keep somethin' like this from her."

"George, she already wants to run me out of time. You tell her this, the Reverend will be performing a wedding slash funeral."

"Okay. Okay then, then I'll take responsibility."

"But it wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was. I … I let Wade get in my head, all that talk about me leadin' you on, and Woody Allen-"

"Wade said … I'll kill him."

"-and I just … I just did somethin' stupid. I'll explain to Lemon that it was a fluke, and that it will never happen again.

"Right." Zoe said, trying to hide the disappointment she could not help but feel when he said the words 'never happen again,' "Hey, you could tell her you were drunk."

George shook his head, "If I was going to lie, I might as well just not tell her."

"Ooh! I like that idea."

"Zoe-"

"Well, come on George, do you really think there is any scenario where you tell her and one of us doesn't feel Lemon's wrath? She'll kill me if we say it was my fault, and if you take the blame she'll probably call off the wedding."

George closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "No, no Lemon and I have been through too much for her to just … as long as I'm honest about it, and it never happens again. She'll understand. Right?"

"Do you want the honest answer, or the one that makes you feel better?"

"Crap!" he got up and started pacing, "But, I mean, I can't not tell her."

"George, I'm a woman, trust me. If you tell her, she's not gonna want to go down that aisle."

"You don't know her like I do."

"Well, if you want to risk it-"

"I have to! We can't start our lives together like this."

"Better than not starting them together at all. Unless …" she stopped herself.

"Unless what?" Zoe was quiet, "Zoe?"

"Well, unless … unless that's what you want."

"What?"

"Well, do you want her to call off the wedding?"

"Why would I want-"

"I don't know why I said that. Forget it. You're right. You have to tell her. Because if you don't you wouldn't be doing the honorable thing. And if you didn't do the honorable thing, you wouldn't be you."

"I think tonight proves I am capable of doing the very dishonorable thing."

Zoe shook her head, "Don't listen to me. What do I know? I mean, you've been with Lemon fifteen years; I've never even been in a relationship half that long. You know her better than I do. She probably will forgive you."

"You think?"

"I would." He was quiet. "It's like you said. It was a … a fluke." She tried to sound like she believed it, despite the aching feeling in her chest, "and, we're never going to do it again. Right?"

She looked up at him, meeting his eyes. His mouth started to form the word know, but once his eyes met hers, it didn't seem like he could get it out.

"Right George? We can never … Do that again." he nodded, "it's not like it we'll be hard. I mean, we've never done that before. Hell, three months ago, we didn't even know each other." She tried to chuckle at the absurdity of it all, but it got caught in her throat.

George shook his head, "Zoe, I don't know if I can pretend this didn't happen."

"You don't have to. You were right, I'm sure Lemon will-"

"That's not what I mean."

"Oh."

"I know we shouldn't have done that, that we can't do that, but now that I know what it feels like to do that with you … " he left the sentence hanging there, not quite sure how to finish it. "Before, I could pretend that I didn't feel somethin' for you, but now, I don't know if I can go back to lyin' to myself. And god forgive me, but I don't want for that to never happen again."

"You have feelings for me?" Zoe asked, finally letting the tears she had been holding in roll down her cheek.

"I don't want to. I know I shouldn't. I know I should just walk out that door right now and the two of us should just steer clear of each other, but" he looked at her, "I can't seem to make myself walk away from you."

She smiled. She couldn't help it. He was saying everything she always wanted to hear. It was wrong, she knew. And she didn't want to be  _that_   _girl_. She didn't want to be responsible for ruining George Tucker's fairytale wedding and perfect life. She didn't want to be the other woman or the home wrecker. But, he was George Tucker, and just like him, even though she knew all the reasons not to, she couldn't seem to make herself walk away.

"What are we gonna do?"

George shook his head, "I don't know. I love Lemon. I really do. But when I'm around you, I feel … maybe we need to just, stop seein' each other all together. Cold Turkey. Stay completely out of each other's lives."

"What, like walk the other way when we see each other?"

"I walk into The Rammer Jammer and you're there, I walk out."

"If I see you at The Dixie Stop, I'll switch to another aisle."

"No pleasantries, no small talk, not even a wave, just … "

Zoe nodded, "I don't want to do that."

"Neither do I. But what other choice do we have?"

"Well, I mean, there is one choice we haven't really considered." Zoe said, trying not to sound as awkward and horrible as she felt.

"What?"

"I don't think you want to hear it."

"I do." Ironic choice of words.

"Are you sure?" George nodded, "Well, you could always make the choice to … not get married."

She waited, praying he wouldn't scream at her. Then again, that might make things easier.

George shook his head; "I couldn't do that to Lemon. She's been dreamin' about this day her whole life."

"Yeah, but, have  _you_? I mean, do you actually want to marry her, or do you just feel obligated to because you two have been together so long and you know how much it means to her?"

"I … honestly don't know. I mean, I know I love her. But, there are different kinds of love, and I'm not sure if I love her the same way I used to."

Zoe shook her head, "I feel like we just keep talking in circles here."

"Yeah, well, once we start talkin' in a straight line, I have to go."

Zoe nodded, "I know … I know you love Lemon, and you feel obligated to her, but, that kiss, was the single most amazing kiss I have had in my entire life." she was starting to cry again, but she didn't care, "George, ever since I met you, I've felt this connection. At first, I thought it was just a crush, or because I missed New York, but, that night in Mobile, I've never felt like that. Not with anyone. I know Lemon can offer you so much, and that I'm just some bossy New Yorker you barely know but, I feel like this is one of those once in a life time kind of feelings, the moments that you walk away from and regret the rest of your life not saying how you really feel. So, here's how I feel. I like you George. I like you a lot. I like you're smile that makes my legs turn to jelly. I like the sound of you're laugh. I like how I can be awkward around you and know that you don't judge me. I like your sense of humor, and how well you listen. It like how kind and giving you are, with me, with the Hilsons. I like when you're silly and when you dance around like an idiot. I like how you talk about Bluebell like it's some sort of paradise, and how you're scared of turtles. I like how you stood by me as a friend after the parade even when Lemon told you not to. I like how embarrassed you got about shooting yourself in the leg. I like how gentle you are. I like how when I talk to you, for the first time, I feel like somebody is actually hearing what I'm saying, actually understanding me, I like-" she was surprised at first when she felt his lips on hers again, but it did not take long for her to reciprocate. It was even more this time. Even hungrier. Zoe closed her eyes and tried to shut up her conscience.

* * *

When she first woke up, she couldn't remember where she was. She went over yesterday's events. George had gotten into a fight with Wade and ended up in the practice to be fixed up. She looked around her, trying to place the décor in her head, but it was all foreign to her. Then, she realized somebody's hand was on her arm. The person was still asleep it seemed, but they were still tracing gentle circles. Then, everything came back. She looked over at the person she both dreaded, and wanted most, to see. He was still asleep. What should she do? Should she sneak out? She didn't even know where she was.

On closer inspection, she realized the place was to clean an organized to be in somebody's home. This was a hotel room. Great. Now she was that girl.

After giving it some thought, she realized that she would have to talk to him about what happened. She had no clue how that talk would go, but it had to happen. They couldn't just ignore last night, as much as she wanted to.

"Lavon." She whispered, nudging him. He grumbled and turned over, "Lavon." She said a little louder. She didn't know why she was whispering exactly. She just felt like somebody she knew might hear and then … oh god. "Lavon!" she said. He wasn't budging. Well, she supposed she could take a shower while she waited for him to wake up. Or not. As she tried to get out of bed, his hand grabbed tighter to her. Looks like she was stuck with him for a while. The thought did not bother her anywhere near as much as it should have.


	5. Chapter 5

Zoe was so grateful that Lavon never came home last night. She was still wearing her robe as she snuck into the kitchen for breakfast. Yes, George had left, but that did not change what they had done last night, or what they had said when they woke up together this morning. The last thing Zoe wanted was Lavon to walk in and see the guilt written all over her face.

* * *

_The second she woke up, she was sure it was a dream. An amazing, beautiful, wonderful dream, but a dream nonetheless. Then, she looked over and saw George lying next to her. His hair so perfect, his breathing so peaceful, his smile so large. He looked so content. And gorgeous. She couldn't forget gorgeous. The word was practically made to describe him; it even sounded kind of like his name._

_She watched him for a while. She wanted to reach out and stroke his hair, but she thought it might wake him, and she was scared of what would happen when he woke up. He would probably say this was a mistake. Maybe he would get mad. No, she thought, George wasn't like that. He would never blame her, even if she was blaming herself. After all, she had kissed him, opening the door, making thoughts and feelings not acted on a reality. Once confronted with the reality, they tried to figure out what to do, and then she had gone on and on about how amazing he was. Between what she said and that kiss, this was bound to happen. She was far less moral than George, a fact she already knew. George never would have had a one-night-stand or accepted second place in a gumbo contest for a gumbo he didn't even make. He never would have told the Reverend's wife that her husband was cheating, or stood up a perfectly nice person out of fear. He definitely wouldn't almost go to bed with somebody because he was upset about somebody else and then call out that person's name._

_No, this was all on her. And no matter what George said, she had to go with it. She had to be understanding, even if it broke her heart. She may have already wrecked his relationship. She needed to let him call the shots. If he said that this, what they had done, was a mistake and that he had to make things right with Lemon, she would agree, and if he didn't …_

_George started to stir. His eyes landed on her, and he smiled, "Good mornin' Zoe Hart." He said, making her swoon and melt. She loved how he said her name; it got her every time._

" _Good morning." She said awkwardly, waiting for him to freak-out like he had last night._

" _You know, I may be a jackass, but I am pretty sure that was the best night sleep I have ever had."_

_Zoe blushed, "You're not a jackass." She said, unable to stop smiling._

" _Oh, no, I am. That much is clear now. I have done a horrible, horrible thing … as good as it may have felt. But, while I cannot undo what I did, I can make sure I never do it again."_

_Zoe's face fell, but she tried to hide it, "Oh, right. Yeah, of course. Never, never again. We'll just … we'll pretend this never happened, and go back to our lives."_

_This time it was George's face that fell. He sat up on his elbow and looked at Zoe, "Is that what you want?"_

" _I …" she knew she had to make this easy for him, but saying yes just wasn't something she could get her mouth to do, "I want you to be happy."_

_He smiled, "And what if being with you would make me happy?"_

_She started to smile, then stopped, "But, you said-"_

" _I said that I was goin' to make sure I never do_ it _again. And by_ it,  _I meant cheat on my fiancé. I'm not gonna do that again. But, I can't cheat on my fiancé if I don't have one. And there is a pretty simple, albeit awkward, solution to that."_

" _You're going to call off the wedding!" Zoe shrieked. She realized it came out a lot louder than she meant and covered her mouth, making George chuckle._

" _That depends. If I call off the wedding, could we do what we did last night again?"_

_Zoe tried to answer, but she couldn't stop giggling, so she just nodded. She had literally never been this happy, and the smile on her face had never been this wide._

" _Well, if it is a choice between gettin' married and never bein' with you again, or not gettin' married, and gettin' to be with you, I'm gonna have to choose the latter." Zoe shrieked. She couldn't help it. Her face turned beat red, but George just chuckled. "I like makin' you smile."_

_Her smile got wider, which she had not thought possible. He was so sweet, and amazing, and so very beautiful. That's when she realized she probably had bed head and she wasn't wearing any make-up. She started to smooth down her hair, "God, I must look like such a mess."_

" _You, Dr. Hart, are the most beautiful sight I ever woke up to. In fact, you just may be the most beautiful sight I have ever seen."_

_She couldn't help it. She leaned in and kissed him. Sure, she probably had morning breath, but how can you not kiss a guy after he says something like that?_

_If she did have morning breath, he didn't seem to mind. It was a good, long kiss, and when they pulled apart, he was smiling._

" _You, um, you want me to get us some breakfast."_

_George shook his head as he started to get up, "Honestly, I would love that. But the longer I put off this conversation, the bigger of an ass I become." Zoe chuckled._

_George found his clothes and put them on, much to Zoe's disappointment. He leaned over and kissed her forehead, "I'll call you as soon as I talk to Lemon." Zoe nodded and watched him walk out of the carriage house, feeling giddier than she had in years._

* * *

When Lavon came in, he didn't even see her, which she was grateful for. Normally, she would ask him where he was all night, but she was afraid that if she did, he would ask her the same thing. If you don't grill, you don't get grilled. Rules to live by. He got some breakfast, and noticed her sitting there. She gave him an awkward smile, which he returned with one of his own as well as a small wave. They sat down with their breakfasts and ate in silence, avoiding each other's gazes.

When Wade came in, it did not take him long to figure out something was up.

"You two got laryngitis or somethin'?" he asked casually as he picked up a bagel.

"We're fine." Zoe said in that high-pitched voice she used when she was uncomfortable. That coupled with the fact that last he saw her, she was furious with him meant something was clearly up with her.

"Yeah, just … just havin' breakfast. Like people do. Nobody said ya gotta talk at breakfast. Fact, it's better not to. People choke that way." Now Lavon was going on about nonsense.

"Okay, what is up with you two? And, don't say nothin'."

Both Zoe and Lavon closed their half open mouths.

Wade examined Zoe and then, something clicked in his head, "So, you and Judson finally hook up?"

"What? Finally … Judson and I have been seeing each other since-"

"I didn't say seeing each other, I said hooked up. I mean, you obviously had sex, so-"

"What makes you think I had sex?" Zoe asked flustered.

"You think I don't know what a girl looks like the morning after?" Wade asked with a scoff.

"It's not morning. It's afternoon."

"Not really the point. Point is, you clearly had sex. So, Judson?"

"What? I mean, yes. Judson. It was totally with Judson! I mean, who else would it be, but Judson, who I am seeing." She gave an awkward smile, and added half-heartedly, "It was awesome. Yea."

"Okay, so, it wasn't Judson?" Wade said, scrutinizing her.

"I just said it  _was_ Judson."

"Yeah, a little too enthusiastically."

"Why would I say I slept with Judson if I didn't?"

It barely took a millisecond for realization to dawn on Wade's face, "Oh god. Really, Doc? Him? Are you out of your mind?"

"What, Judson and I -"

"Cut the crap, okay, we both know you didn't hook up with Judson any more 'an I hooked up with Lavon."

Lavon looked up at that. "What?"

"Nothing." Zoe said.

"Oh, what, you're not plannin' to tell your BFF what a selfish, self-destructive bitch you are?"

"Hey! That's not -"

"Yeah, it is." Wade said firmly. "What the hell is wrong with you? Fantasizin' is one thing, but to actually hook up with him? Do you realize how many people this stands to hurt, includin' yourself? Of all the stupid, selfish things you've done since movin' here, I honestly never thought you'd stoop this low. Guess I was wrong. I'm not hungry anymore. You enjoy your day Dr. Hart, includin' all the locusts and frogs comin' your way." Wade put his bagel out and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

Lavon looked at the door, then at Zoe, then back at the door.

"I have to get to work." "I have a meetin' to get ready for." Each said before quickly rushing out of the room, guarding their dirty little secrets from each other.

* * *

"Lemon!" George called.

"She's not here." He turned and saw Brick, "She spent the night with one of the Belles. Something about a project. She wasn't very specific on the phone. Figured she would have told you."

George shrugged awkwardly, "Well, do you, uh, know when she'll be back?"

Brick shook his head, "I'll tell her you stopped by."

George nodded gratefully. He felt extremely guilty, talking to Brick as though nothing had changed, as though he had done nothing wrong. Brick had been like a father to him for so long. He was family; a family George now feared he was going to lose. But Zoe was worth it, he told himself.

When he got back to his place, Wade was waiting for him outside. George was not in the mood for another confrontation; not now that he had proved Wade right.

"Wade." George greeted, trying to fake a smile, "Look, I don't really have time to-"

Then he was on the ground, his barely healed bruise pulsing,

"You son of a bitch!" Wade spat.

"Excuse me? I'm not the one who just threw a punch!"

"No, but you are the one who slept with Zoe Hart last night."

George looked up at Wade, "How-?"

"Does it matter?" Wade asked. It was pretty obvious he wasn't going to elaborate. Wade did not seem to be in the mood for talking.

George started to get up, but Wade pushed him back down, "I'm not gonna fight you Wade. Made that mistake once already this week."

"Well, then this'll be easier than I thought." He tackled George to the ground. Both were still covered in bruises from last time, but Wade's anger seemed to be blinding him to any pain. As for George, he didn't want to hit Wade. That was how this all started and it wouldn't solve anything. Besides, a part of him knew that he kind of deserved this … though why Wade kept getting involved he didn't know.

"Oh my god." He heard. Looking up, he saw Lemon running up to him, tears streaming down her face, fear in her eyes. She pulled Wade up by his collar, "What in the H-E-double-hockey-sticks is wrong with you?"

Wade just pulled away from her scowling. Lemon knelt down, "George, are you okay? Can you move?"

"He'll be fine. And if not, he can go see the Doc and get the perfect treatment." Wade spat.

"What?" Lemon asked confused.

"Lemon, I -"

"Shhh. Don't talk. I'll call daddy." She turned, "As for you Kinsella, maybe George started it last time, but you are at  _his_  place, and there is no doubt in my mind about who started it this time, so you better get your sorry self out of here before I get mad."

Wade shook his head, wearing a scornful smirk, "Fine. I'll go. But you're gonna thank me for this, because believe me, he deserved it. If I were you, I'd let him suffer a little before callin' Brick."

"Well you're not me, are you? Now get!"

Wade tipped an imaginary hat and headed away.

* * *

Lavon was trying to keep himself busy. He needed to keep his mind off of Lemon. They hadn't had time to talk about what happened this morning, so they were supposed to meet up and talk tonight. But two minutes ago, he got a text saying she had to postpone because George was hurt again and she had to take care of him. Lavon was beginning to think the guy was jinxed. Lavon texted to ask what happened, but he had not gotten a response, and he was kind of glad. He wasn't really in the mood to comfort Lemon about George. Of course, it had not been the worst thing last night, considering what had happened after. Lavon didn't know what it meant, and he knew he and Lemon needed to talk. Still, he was a bit relieved she had postponed. He didn't know what she was going to say, and depending on what it was, he might prefer putting off hearing it.

He heard a knock at his study door and looked up to see Zoe standing there. He had been avoiding her all day. She stood there awkwardly.

"Um, sorry to bother you but you, um, a package just came for you. I figured I should tell you."

Lavon nodded, "Thanks big Z."

She smiled awkwardly. Then Lavon's phone beeped. It was Lemon.

_He got into a fight. No time to talk. Phone going off._

Lavon sighed.

"Who was that from?" Zoe asked.

"What? Oh, uh, no one. Just, uh, just some local gossip."

"Ooh, other people's problems!" Zoe said, surprisingly excited.

"You actually want to hear it?"

"Well, hearing about somebody else's problems may help me forget my own. Besides, in this town, gossip is like owning a Gucci purse in New York. If you didn't get it, you're not one of them."

Lavon shrugged off the purse comment, "Okay, well, uh, George Tucker's got into another fight."

"With Lemon?" Zoe asked, not sounding as surprised as she should have.

Lavon shook his head, "What, no. Why would he get in a fight with Lemon? Beside's, even if he had, I don't know how much damage she could do, then again, he's already bruised, so I guess his skin would be kind of sensitive."

Zoe shot up, "Wait, you mean he got into another  _physical_  fight?"

Lavon nodded. "Supposedly he's pretty banged up, which I guess makes sense considerin' he was still healin' from-"

"With who?" Zoe asked. He could hear the panic in her voice.

"What?"

"Who'd he get into a fight with?"

Lavon shrugged, "I don't know. It's new gossip, and my source just turned off their phone."

"Well, is he going to be okay? How bad is it?" she was speaking really fast in a high-pitched voice. Lavon had never seen her like this.

"Like I said before, he's pretty banged up-"

"But how banged up? Did he lose blood? Did he pass out? How-?"

"Big Z, you're askin' the wrong person. You wanna know so bad, talk to Brick. He's lookin' at him right now."

"I'm going to barbecue him." Zoe muttered angrily.

"Why, because he's treatin' George instead of you? I don't think this is the time to think about your thirty-"

"No, not Brick."

"Then who are you-?"

"I'm talking about the person who beat-up George!"

"You don't even know who that is."

"I think I have a pretty good idea. Excuse me." Zoe went off slamming the door behind her.

* * *

"Thank you Brick. Sorry I been endin' up in your office so much lately."

Brick nodded, "I don't know what is goin' on with you and Wade, but I suggest you work it out before you skin each other alive."

George offered an awkward smile.

"Dr. Breeland?" Both of them looked up to see Addie, "Dr. Hart is on the phone for you."

Brick looked confused, but he went to get the phone, "Hello. Dr. Hart?"

"Brick? Thank god, I've been trying to find you."

"Are you feeling okay?"

"What?"

"Why would you want to find me?  _I_  know I'm not exactly your favorite person, and  _you_ know that the feeling is mutual."

"Is George Tucker there?"

"What?"

"George. Is he there? I heard what happened between him and Wade … it was Wade, wasn't it?"

"Yes. But how did you hear-?"

"Bluebell gossips. You should know that better than me. Anyway, that's not the point. How's George? Is he okay?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because he's my friend and I was worried … plus, if it was Wade, I'm pretty sure it was kind of my fault."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Brick, please. Just tell me. Is he all right? Doctor to doctor."

"He'll be fine."

Zoe breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you." she hung up before he could ask any questions.

* * *

Lemon had been picking up some supplies for taking care of George tonight when Brick had called and said that George had left the practice. Apparently, George told her father that he was all right now and he didn't need Lemon to look after him. Lemon knew better though. He clearly did not want to be around her. Was he mad at her? Did he know about … no, he couldn't possibly know. Could he?

She was walking back to her car when she heard it. It sounded like somebody hacking their guts out. Cautiously, she went around behind the Dixie Stop and found Wade Kinsella, throwing up. She huffed, causing him to look up. The look in his eyes scared her. It was almost animal.

"Wade?" she asked cautiously. She was still furious with him, but something about his expression made her tread carefully.

"Who else? You expect another person to be drunk off their ass throwin' up shit behind the Dixie Stop?" His voice was angry, venomous. She had never seen Wade like that before.

"What is goin' on with you? Getting' into it with George? Twice? Takin' me on outside the practice."

"What? I'm supposed to be scared of a powder-puff like you?" he snarled.

Lemon's eyes got wide, "I'm gonna pretend you didn't just say that to me, because I know even you aren't _that_ stupid."

"How's that stupid. Just speakin' the truth. You know what I see when I look at you Lemon? I see a prissy little girl so scared of bein' left behind that she acts impenetrable, pretends nothin' can get through her armor when she is, in reality, one of the most vulnerable ones out there. And, newsflash, it's not exactly workin' out for you. Your life is more screwed up then you know."

"How dare you-"

"What, I figure I got a right. Way I see it, you and I are the same. Both abandoned by our parents as kids, both built up a reputation to hide the pathetic, scared little person inside. And we are most certainly in the same boat now. Granted, you have more to lose, but that's the one way I'm smarter than you. I learned long ago that you can't lose anythin' if you don't have anythin'. You actually believe you can make yourself into a version of Lemon Breeland that they will love. Well, guess what? Everybody hates Lemon Breeland. Everybody knows that she is a stuck-up, selfish, bitch, daddies girl. And now even Tucker doesn't want you any more."

Lemon reached her hand up to slap him, but somehow, even drunk, he was able to catch her arm before she could, "Oh, I wouldn't do that sweetheart. Normally, I don't hit women, but I think I may be just drunk enough to not care." He moved closer to her, so she could see his nostrils flaring, the slightly insane look in his eyes. "Don't. Test. Me."

Lemon was scared. Genuinely, legitimately scared. She didn't know what to do.

Wade released her arm, pushing her away from him, and watched her scramble to put more distance between them, "I'd get out of here if I was you."

She didn't know what made her do it; maybe it was because they used to be friends. Maybe it was because she had seen him drunk enough times to know he didn't usually get like this. She was terrified, but she stood herself up straight and, with more courage than she felt, she said, "No."

"What?"

"I said no. I am not goin' to get out of here."

He started to approach her, and she forced herself not to flinch or cower. When he was halfway over to where she was standing, he seemed to change his mind. "Suit yourself." He said turning around.

He went over to where he had been and picked up another bottle. Lemon shook her head. Then, she did the only thing she could think of. She made sure she could still see Wade, but she got out of earshot, and took out her cellphone.

"Mayor Hayes?"

She heard on the other end. Just hearing his voice seemed to calm her a little, "Lavon. Thank god."

"Lemon? I thought you were lookin' after George tonight?"

"Change of plans. It's a long story. Look, can you get to the Dixie Stop?"

"I … I thought we weren't meetin' so I sort of started on somethin'. I can't just up and leave in the middle, but tomorrow-"

"Lavon, this isn't about us."

"No? Then why are you callin'?"

"Because your tenant slash handyman, slash best friend is vomiting and drunk behind The Dixie Stop. I've never seen him like this Lavon. It's like he's some wild animal. He … he threatened me." she whispered the last part; she didn't know why, it just felt like she should whisper that part.

"I'm on my way."

* * *

Zoe knocked on the door anxiously. It took some time for George to answer. When he did, she noticed he was limping a little. Zoe's hand went up to here mouth.

"Oh my god."

"Zoe." He said, forcing a smile.

"George, I am so, so sorry. I swear, I didn't tell him anything. He just knew. Somehow. I am so, so …" she started to cry.

George took her in his arms, "Hey, hey, it's okay, none of that."

"I was so scared. When Lavon told me, I nearly passed out. He didn't know how bad it was, and I just…"

"Shhhh." George soothed, stroking her hair.

"I am so, so sorry George. This is all my fault."

"Will you stop saying that." she looked up at him. He was smiling, and even though she knew it was only for her benefit, it helped, "Listen to me. You, Zoe Hart, just might be the best thing that ever happened to me. And I never want you to apologize. Not for what happened between us, or the consequences. I knew there would be consequences, but I wouldn't take last night back. Not for all the world."

"How do you always say the right thing?" Zoe said, sniffling.

George kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry I scared you."

That made her chuckle, "I'm gonna kill him. Next time I see him. I know where his wounds are; I stitched them up. I can hit him where it hurts."

They both knew she would never do that, but it made George chuckle, which was a nice sound.

"Where's Lemon?" Zoe asked, "I would figure she would want to be by your side. Unless…"

George shook his head, "She broke the fight up. It wasn't exactly the best time to tell her. I knew she'd be emotional about everything, and the timing … it just wasn't right. She wanted me to go over there after Brick was done with me, but I told him I could take care of myself. I can't be around her and not tell her, but it would be the wrong time to tell her." Zoe nodded, understandingly, "I promise, I am goin' to talk to her. I just didn't expect-"

"I know. It's okay."

George smiled at her, "You're amazin'. You know that?"

Zoe blushed, "So, um, I know you told Brick that you could take care of yourself, but, if you maybe wanted a doctor around to look after you, you know, if you want, just incase you need anything …" she noticed she had been leaving a lot of sentences hanging lately. It made sense. If she said the wrong thing, she could lose him, so she had to be careful. That was never really a problem with Wade. Well, except when she had called out George's name.

Zoe blinked, wondering why her mind had wandered to Wade.

"I'd like that very much." George said.

Zoe smiled.

* * *

The room was the brightest he had ever seen it. His head was pounding in his ears. Wade had had enough hangovers to know the signs. He didn't remember much of last night, but that wasn't unusual. What was unusual was that when he sat up, he saw Lemon and Lavon sitting on chairs, starring at him.

"You're up." Lemon said. Wade grabbed his head at the noise.

"I'm gonna go make you some tea." Lavon said, leaving Wade with Lemon.

Wade groaned. Lemon continued to watch him with a mixture of concern and confusion, "Why're you lookin' at me like you're Jane Goodall and I'm a chimp?"

"What do you remember about last night?" she asked, making no effort to keep her voice down.

"Alcohol." Wade said, groaning again.

"And?"

"And nothin'. I remember alcohol."

Lemon walked up to him and slapped him.

"Ow! Jesus Lemon!"

"That's for what you said to me last night."

"What, did I come on to you or somethin'? Because no offense, but I gotta say, even I drunk, I doubt-"

Lemon shot him a look that shut him up.

"What happened last night?" he asked, trying to sound polite.

Lemon sighed and sat down at the edge of the bed, "Wade, I've known you my whole life, and I've seen you drunk before, but I have never, ever seen you like you were last night. You were mean, scary … violent."

Wade shot up, his eyes wide, "Did I hit you?" he asked, concerned.

Lemon shook her head, "No, but you threatened to. And judgin' by the look in your eyes, I think you meant it. If I hadn't backed off-"

"Oh man. Lemon, I am so sorry, I don't-"

"Don't be sorry. Just explain it to me. You have never been an angry drunk. What changed?"

Wade sighed, putting his hand to his forehead and pushing his hair back, "I don't know." Lemon gave him a 'that's-not-good-enough' look. He couldn't help but chuckle a little, "Guess love does crazy things to people."

"Love?"

"Here ya go." Lavon said behind her, holding a tray with a cup on it, "I also made a sandwich, try and soak up the alcohol."

"Thanks Lavon." Wade said, "And if I did anythin' last night, I'm so-"

"Forget about it. We all have those nights."

"Love?" Lemon asked again. Lavon turned to her, and Wade gave her a look that she ignored, "What do you mean, love?"

"I didn't say love." Lavon said, confused.

"No," she said, turning, "Wade did."

Wade shook his head, painful as it was. He might have been willing to talk to Lemon, if he had gotten the chance, but not Lavon. Lavon knew him too well, and knew her too well, knew what happened too well. Lavon would know who he was talking about. "Think you're hearin' things, Lemon."

Lemon shook her head. "I know what you said. I asked you what-"

"Just drop it, okay." He snapped. He wasn't drunk, but there was still a touch of the anger from last night.

"I am not goin' to drop it any more than I was goin' to leave you alone last night." Lemon said stubbornly. "You were sayin' somethin', but when Lavon entered the room, you clamped up."

"Guess that means I'm in love with Lavon then." Wade said jokingly, "Well, my secrets out."

Lemon scoffed, "Obviously not. What happened last night had to do with love."

"I love my mom, who is gone, my dad, who is a drunk, how do you know last night wasn't about one of them?"

"Because you have been dealing with that for years and this was new. This wasn't you at all."

"Maybe it was."

"Maybe you're an idiot." She shot back, "You are a lot of things Wade Kinsella, but what you were last night." She shook her head, "I know you, and I know that wasn't you. Everybody has been strange lately, and you most of all."

"Lemon, leave it, okay."

"No!" Lemon said stubbornly, "I want to know what caused you to go Jekyll/Hyde last night. What happened? Why did you say love makes people do crazy things?"

" 'Cause it does."

"But how is that relevant. Unless you're in love, and even then, I can't think of any rejection strong enough to cause a reaction like that."

Lavon's eyes widened, "Oh boy."

Wade winced. He didn't even need to see Lavon's face; his tone was enough. He knew. He had put it together, and now he knew.

"That's why you kicked her out. Isn't it? That's why everythin' has gone to hell lately."

Wade didn't bother answering.

"What are you talkin' about?"

"I think I can handle it from here." Lavon said, ushering Lemon to the door.

"Lavon, what-?"

"We'll talk later. Drive safe."

He closed the door, leaving a very confused Lemon standing outside the gatehouse.

"So." Lavon said. Wade said nothing, "So, you love her, huh?"

Wade groaned, "Can we  _please_  not do this?"

"Wade, you acted out of character last night. You  _threatened_  somebody. As mayor, I cannot just ignore that." Wade scoffed, "And you are in some serious pain. As your friend, I cannot just ignore that either."

"So … so don't ignore it. Just don't talk to me about it. Not right now. My head is still throbbin' and I just -"

"Okay, okay." Lavon said getting up and backing towards the door, "Lavon Hayes will talk to you later."

"Thank you." Wade hugged a pillow and pretended to go back to sleep until Lavon left.

* * *

Zoe had gone down to The Dixie Stop to pick up breakfast and some painkillers for George. She was still in awe of everything that had happened between them in the last forty-eight hours. As she shopped, she caught bits and pieces of conversations. Most didn't stick out to her. But one did.

"It was bizarre." She overheard somebody say in the next isle. "You know how Wade is. He's even easier drunk than he is sober, which is sayin' somethin'. When I saw him hittin' the liquor hard, I thought I was in for a fun night. But …"

"But what?" the girl sounded so anxious, waiting for gossip like a dog waits for dinner guests to drop table scraps.

"Well, I have seen Wade be a fun and horny drunk, and on occasion, though not often, he is a mopey drunk. Last night though, he was nothin' but mean. First off, he clearly wasn't interested in sex. He barked at me and said some pretty cruel things. But what really scared me was that look in his eyes. There was somethin' wild, almost animal about it. I've never seen him so … dark."

"Well, what happened?"

"What happened? I skedaddled out of there before he got violent, that's what, because trust me, it was heading in that direction."

Zoe dropped her shopping basket, her hand flying to her mouth. Without thinking, she ran out of The Dixie Stop and took the quickest route to the plantation.

She was out of breath by the time she got there, but after taking a moment to catch her breath banged on the door with all she had.

"Lavon, I told you, not now."

She realized the door was unlocked, as usual, and pushed it open, "It's not Lavon." She said.

Wade's eye's widened, "Doc?" he said it like she was a ghost or something. Then his voice returned to normal, "What are you doin' here?"

She sat down at the edge of the bed and, against his better judgment, he made room for her, moving his feet. "I heard what happened last night."

"How?"

Zoe shrugged, "Overheard some gossip. Bluebell, ya know." He nodded, "Are you okay?" It was a bizarre thing to ask since he had hardly sounded like the victim in what she heard overheard the girl say, but something told her there was more to the story.

He shrugged nonchalantly, "Hey, you know me." She didn't buy it. He tried to change the subject, "Hey, shouldn't, uh, shouldn't you be furious with me right now?" she looked at him confused, "On account of I beat up Tucker again."

She nodded, "I probably should be." She gave him a weak smile, "I was. But I don't think I am anymore."

"Why not?"

"I have no clue." She said, chuckling at how weird it sounded. "What's going on with you?" He looked at her questioningly, "You're angry, all the time. I thought it was just with me, but … we may not know each other well, but something is clearly, seriously wrong. And … I'm worried about you."

"Yeah? Since when do you care about me?"

"I don't know. I mean, I guess we're sort of friends, aren't we?"

Wade shook his head, "I don't think I know how to be friends with you doc."

"I'll teach you." he chuckled a little.

"Why would you even want to be friends?"

"Because, you're a good guy, and a good friend. I've seen it. What you do for your dad every month. What you've done for me. Staying over 'cause I'm afraid of a ghost. Comforting me when I'm a pathetic mess."

"Yeah, that worked out well." He said sarcastically.

"I just want to help. Whatever's going on, you can tell me."

He shook his head, "No, I really, really can't."

"Well, can you, I don't know, charade it?" he laughed again, "Come on, give me something here."

"You really think I'm a good guy?"

She seemed surprised by his questioned, but she nodded, "Of course. I said it, didn't I?"

"Then how come you assume I ain't got a heart?"

"I never said you didn't have a heart."

"You didn't have to. It's clearly what you think."

"No it's not."

"So you think I feel then? That I'm capable of more than sex, might even  _want_  more than sex? That I could even fall in love with somebody?" Zoe didn't say anything, "Yeah, I didn't think so."

"Wade-"

"Zoe, my head's throbbin' and-"

"I could take a look." She moved toward him and he jumped back, "Why do you keep doing that?"

" 'Cause you keep not stayin' back. 'Sides, it's not an injury; it's a hangover. Nothin' but time can cure that."

She nodded, "I just wish there was something …" she trialed off, unable to finish the thought.

"It's just a hangover doc. I've had 'em before. Nothin' to get worked up about."

"It's not just a hangover though. There's something going on with you, and I wish I could fix it."

"Not everythin' can be fixed." He said sadly.

"Do you really believe that?"

"Don't you?"

"Maybe. I don't know." She looked down. His sheets were filthy, which made her smile because it was so very Wade. Then she remembered the last time she touched those sheets. "I didn't mean to make you feel like that's all you were that night."

He closed his eyes, "I don't want to talk about that night."

She nodded, "Okay."

He was quiet for a moment, "So, what else was I? I mean, if I wasn't just a warm body?"

"You were … a friend, who was there for me when I really needed it." Wade snorted. Realizing that wasn't good enough, Zoe decided to throw in something a little more embarrassing, "And you smelt really good." He chuckled, but it didn't really sound happy.

Zoe's phone went rang, "Hello?"

"Hey. You okay?"

"George." Wade's face-hardened a little. "I'm so sorry. I got caught up with, um, I'll be right there."

"Hey, you don't have to come back. I get if you're busy. It was just, you said you just had to run an errand and would be right back, so when you didn't I got a little worried. Crazy I know, but, after all the car accidents, crossbows, and fights I think I might be a little paranoid."

Zoe chuckled, "No, that's sweet, and totally understandable. And of course I want to come back. I'll be there soon. If I'm not there in thirty minutes, send a search party."

"Eye-eye captain." Zoe giggled and hung up. She looked up, remembering Wade was there, "I, um, I have to -"

"Yeah, I heard." Wade said bitterly and Zoe started to go, "He's never gonna leave her ya know."

Zoe turned around, "You don't know that."

"Maybe not. But I know him, and I know what he's doin'. More than that, I know how situations like this end."

Zoe shook her head, "You don't know him like I do."

Wade snorted, "Yeah, well, I've never slept with him if that's what you mean. I have, however, known him since we were eight years old. And he's not gonna leave Lemon."

"And if you're wrong?"

"If I'm wrong, I'll eat my words. Either way, leave her or don't, he's still a scumbag."

"He isn't-"

"And you deserve better."

Zoe was stunned by that, "Since when do you think that?"

"Surprised you even noticed I was capable of thinkin'." Zoe just kept standing there, "Look Doc, George is a cheater, no matter how you spin it. He asked Lemon to marry him, and he cheated, which makes him a cheater and you deserve more than that." He got out of the bed. His shirt was stained with what looked like vomit, but Zoe wasn't really focused on what he was wearing. It was what he was saying that was throwing her, "And even if he hadn't. Even if he never cheated, I still doubt he could have been good enough for you," he was coming towards her, and she was frozen in place, her mind on spin cycle with a bunch of things that didn't make sense, "Because, honestly, I really don't think that there is anybody out there good enough for you." He had moved into her personal space. They were literally millimeters apart. He reached up, brushed hair back behind her ear, and cupped her cheek, "Hey doc." He whispered, like they hadn't just been talking and he had just walked in.

Zoe swallowed, her eyes locked with his, mesmerized by his touch, "Hi." She heard herself say. It sounded breathy, which seemed to make him smile. And then he was kissing her, and she couldn't think. Her mind just shut up; a very rare occurrence. She was caught up in the warmth, the closeness, the touch, the taste. It was full of longing and passion but also gentle somehow.

And then, it was over. He had pulled back. He tilted her chin up and locked eyes with her, making sure she was listening to him, "That was not about sex." He said, waiting for the words to sink in. After a few minutes, he stepped away from her and headed back to the bed. He laid down where he had been before, and, again, she stood there wondering how much of that had really happened and how much she imagined.

Then, she remembered George, who was waiting for her, who was going to call off his wedding for her, who she wanted to be with so bad it ached.

"I – I have to go." Wade made a noise of acknowledgement. She grabbed the doorknob.

"Remember what I said." She heard him say behind her.

* * *

By the time she got back to The Dixie Stop to pick up breakfast and medicine, again, she was more confused than ever. Had he said that when she left? Had he kissed her? Had he said that he couldn't imagine there being anybody out there who was good enough for her? And what about George? Sweet, caring, amazing George who she could finally be with … as soon as he called of his wedding. Which he was going to do. He said so. And he wouldn't lie to her or carry on an affair. He was too good a guy for that.

"You have to pick one."

Zoe's head snapped up, "What?"

Frank pointed to water bottle and soda, the last to things to be rung up, "You don't have enough for both. You have to pick one."

"Oh, um, I'll take the water I guess."

"You sure?" Zoe nodded. She paid Frank and he handed her her purchases. As she left the store, she glanced at the soda she had left behind, knowing she had picked the right beverage, though both had their appeal. She just wished she could be so sure about other things.

 


	6. Chapter 6

 

"You should probably think of locking your door." Zoe said as she headed over to George. "Seriously, I barely nudged it with my foot, and it just opened right up."

George chuckled looking over at Zoe from his spot on the bed, "Bluebell's pretty safe. Almost nobody locks their doors."

"Well, anyway, I got your medicine, and some food. I don't know if you're hungry-"

"Starved actually. Hey, do me a favor? Get my wallet out for me?"

"Why?"

"I'm not lettin' you foot the bill."

"George, it's fine. I don't mind."

"I do."

"You always have to do the right thing, don't you?" Zoe asked, her voice wistful, distant. She started to unpack the food, not looking at him. Her mind was clearly elsewhere.

"Zoe?"

"Hm?"

"Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine." She said in a tone that clearly indicated otherwise. Then, she turned to him. She had a cute, panicked sort of look on her face, even if she was trying to act cool, "It's just … is that what this is? This thing with you and me?" She asked, motioning between them.

"What do you mean?"

"You're a good guy George; you always try to do right by people. There is no graceful way out of this situation, having an affair when you're engaged. The only way you could remotely justify it to yourself is to say you did it for truelove. The right thing is being honest and not leading anybody on, which means telling Lemon and being with me."

"Zoe-"

"Is that why you're doing this?" She asked, taking a seat in the chair by his bed, "Because you're trying to do the right thing; make the most of an impossible situation?"

"Of course not." George said, lifting himself to a sitting position, "Zoe, I don't want to be with you because I think it's the right thing. I want to be with you because I want to be with you."

Zoe sighed, "Are you sure, because I really like you George, and if this is just you trying to be the good guy, I'd rather-"

"Zoe, hey, Zoe, look at me. I'm not the good guy, okay, and I'm not the bad guy either. The world is more complicated than that. I'm learning that when it comes to this sort of stuff, not everything is so black and white. I don't know what kind of guy I am anymore. All I know for sure right now is I'm the guy who is crazy about you." Zoe bit her lip, "Zoe?"

"No, I, I heard you. I guess I'm just scared. I always seem to pick the wrong guys or the wrong situations. Maybe I'm just having trouble believing something could actually go my way."

George smiled, leaning in, but a banging at the door interrupted the near kiss.

"George!"

_Lemon. Crap._

"What do we- should I hide or-?"

Before George could answer, the doorknob started to turn. Zoe winced.  _Of course she has a key. She's his fiancé._

"George?" Zoe saw Lemon's eyes widen and bit her lip nervously. "What is  _she_  doing here?" Lemon asked, turning to George and speaking as though Zoe wasn't even there.

"I'm a doctor." Zoe said, jumping in to save George from having to lie.

"Yes, I know what you do for a livin' Dr. Hart. I was askin' what you were doin'  _here?_ "

"George is hurt. He needed medical care."

"My father-"

"I called her."

"You what?"

"I didn't want to bother Brick and-"

"Sweetheart, that's just ridiculous. You know he wouldn't mind."

"Well, I would have. I can't just keep relyin' on Brick every time I get hurt."

"It's his job-"

"It's her job too, and I'm sure he has plenty of patients in more need of care than me."

"I'm just gonna go …" Zoe said awkwardly as Lemon stared down George.

"She isn't even you're Doctor. And she's barely qualified to…"

Lemon's shrieks faded off in the distance as Zoe snuck out. That was awkward. But, George had defended her. True, he had also lied about why she was there, but then, so had she. And what was he supposed to say? This clearly was not the right time to call things off.

Wade was wrong. George would call things off for her; she knew it. George cared about her, and he was not the type of guy to string people along. Sure, it might take a little time, but George had to wait for the right moment; he couldn't just spring it on Lemon. He was a good guy and he didn't want to hurt anybody. And Lemon and him had been together for fifteen years. That's a hard bond to break. And of course Zoe didn't plan to wait around forever, but she knew what she wanted, and she was prepared to fight for it.

Or was she? Had she done any real fighting? There had to be something  _she_ could do so her and George could get their fairytale ending. Maybe there was a way she could make it easier for him to end things with Lemon. But how?

Or maybe he didn't have to. Maybe they could just pack up their things and take off one night, leaving everything behind. George wouldn't have to actually end things with Lemon; the message of running away with another girl was pretty clear.

Except George would never do that. Why did she have to fall for the good guy who would never do things like skip out on his fiancé or cheat?

Okay, so technically, he had cheated, but it was just the one time, and he was going to end it with Lemon just as soon as …

"Zoe." She turned, surprised. "Hey, I thought that was you."

"Judson. Hey." Zoe said, feeling awkward. She hadn't seen Judson since before her and George, well … "Um, how, how are you?"

He shrugged, "I'm doin' okay. Well, accept, there is this really pretty girl who I like quite a bit and she hasn't been returning any of my calls. But other than that …"

"Judson, I am so sorry. Things have just been so crazy. You wouldn't believe how insane everything has gotten."

"Okay, well, how about you let me buy you a drink and you can tell me all about it."

"Um, I'm kind of swamped right now. Rain check?"

He nodded, "Okay."

Zoe smiled as she watched Judson leave. He was nice, but he wasn't George, and she couldn't go out with him while she was with George. Not that she was exactly  _with_  George. Well, she sort of was. They slept together, and admitting to having feelings for each other. If that isn't with, what is?

Okay, so normally, the guy you are  _with_  isn't  _with_ somebody else, but it was a delicate situation, and she had complete and total faith in George. He was a good guy, and he cared for her. So she couldn't cheat on him, even if he was still  _technically_  with Lemon. Plus, she didn't want to lead Judson on. And getting drinks could mean the Rammer Jammer, and she couldn't even conceive of seeing Wade right now. No, this was better. And soon George would end things with Lemon, and all would be in the past.

* * *

Zoe walked into the kitchen to see the whole place filled up with decorations waiting to be put up. For once however, she wasn't out of the loop. This wasn't some crazy, silly, Bluebellian festival, this was normal, and something she understood.

"Merry almost Christmas Lavon." Zoe said, trying to sound chipper.

"Merry almost Christmas Big Z." He gave her a smile, which she struggled to return. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Just, you know, first Christmas away from New York. No snow, no Time Square, it'll be very different." All true, but none of these things were the reason she was upset. The truth was, it had been nearly three weeks since she and George had slept together, and, as far as she had heard, the wedding was still on schedule. She knew George wanted to call it off, that he wanted to be with her, but it was just so hard for him to hurt Lemon like that. If only he could see what a bitch Lemon really was, maybe it would be easier for him, but George wasn't like that. That's why she loved him.

"Well, we will do what we can to make sure your first Christmas in Bluebell kicks the ass of everyone you ever had in New York."

Zoe smiled. "I appreciate the enthusiasm, but it's not necessary. You don't have to go to any extra trouble for me."

"Don't be silly, of course I do." Zoe smiled. It was nice to know she could always count on Lavon.

Even though his breakfast was already set on the table, he picked up a mug and poured some coffee into it. Then he grabbed a plate and started filling it up as he glanced casually out the window.

Zoe rolled her eyes, "You know he's not coming. He won't set foot in this kitchen so long as I'm in it."

Lavon sighed, nodding, "Ya'll talked."

"No, not since … not in a while." She said, stopping herself. She was going to say … well, she wasn't sure actually. Since he kissed me? Since that weird conversation? Since I came to check up on him after I heard about his bizarre night? None of it seemed right. She didn't even know how to describe their last conversation, or how she felt about the fact that she hadn't really seen him since. She wasn't so sure he was avoiding her; it wasn't like before. He wasn't exactly trying to steer clear of her, at least, not actively. He was more just absent. And sure, he wouldn't have breakfast at the main house, but that wasn't just because of her; at least, it wasn't just because of her. She knew it was partially due to the fact that he got so drunk most nights he could barely see straight when he woke up in the morning.

She hadn't seen it herself, but she had heard about it around town. She knew he drove off after his shift because he felt weird drinking where he bartended. He went to Mobile, or Daphne, or somewhere else nearby and got a drink. Some nights he stumbled back, or would get a ride, usually from some girl. He never invited her in though. He always came back alone, went to sleep alone, woke up alone.

Well, actually, he usually woke up to Lavon who had been bringing him over breakfast, as he was doing now. And, just as always, Lavon paused at the door, turned to Zoe, and asked, "You wanna take this one?"

She shook her head, like she always did. He shrugged and went off toward Wade's. It wasn't like she was refusing to do him a favor. If he was tired of it or busy and needed her to, she would step in, but she knew that wasn't why he was asking. She didn't even know what was going on with her and Wade lately, and she was a little afraid to ask about it.

So she grabbed her purse and headed to work, hoping somebody with a deadly virus would walk through her door, giving her a good, solid distraction from her own problems.

* * *

"Wade!"

Wade shot up and rolled off the bed. He should be used to Lavon waking him like this by now, but he wasn't. "Do you gotta stand so close?" He mumbled.

"Lilah give you a lift home again?"

Wade nodded, grabbing the sandwich Lavon had put on a plate for him. Lavon grabbed it back, "Wh?"

"Naw. I been patient with you enough. I been here for you, but you can't expect me to keep doin' this without a word from you on the humongous elephant in the room."

"I never asked you to do any of this, Lavon. It was your choice. You decided you wanted to become Mr. Room Service."

"You and I both know that ain't what I'm doin'. You're in pain Wade, and you ain't been acting like yourself."

"It ain't like me to spend my nights gettin' drunk? You forget whose son I am?"

"Naw, naw, naw. Don't goin' playin' the, 'My dad's the town drunk,' card. You're better than that, and I'm smarter than that. 'Sides, it ain't about the drinkin', you always drank. You go out, get drunk, have a good time, bring home a girl, not the healthiest lifestyle, but it seemed to work for you at this point in your life." Wade sat up and rubbed his eyes, "Now, you go out to another county or town, come home drunk and angry and throwin' up every which way. You're miserable and mad, and I can't even remember the last time you had a girl over."

"So, you're worried about me cause I'm not sleepin' around?"

"Don't be an idiot, boy. You know that ain't what this is about." Lavon took a deep breath, "We ever gonna talk about Zoe?" Wade didn't say anything, "You know, I think you're losin' some weight my friend. Lookin' kind of pale too. Seems to me, you got a serious monkey on your back and if you don't talk about it, it'll consume you … more than it already has."

"If I'm losin' weight an' lookin' pale it's just cause I throw up more 'an I eat now." Lavon gave him a look that implied Wade had just proved his point, "Look, what'd'ya want me to say?"

"I want you to tell me what happened?"

"You already know what happened."

"I know her version, not yours."

Wade sighed, "So what, you wanna hear how I found her mopin' and cryin' over some black-and-white movie in the middle of the night? How I tried to comfort her? How for the first time in my life, when I got on a couch and started holdin' a girl, it wasn't 'cause I was tryin' to make a move? You wanna hear how she kissed me, how she started the whole thing? You wanna hear how long I'd been wantin', hopin', prayin' she would start somethin', or give me some sign that I could without gettin' slapped? You wanna hear how for the first time, it wasn't just about the sex? How it was about the girl. The Goddamn selfish bitch of a girl who I didn't even know how much I liked until I was given reason to hope she might like me back. How I've never felt anything like that, not with any of the girls I kissed or been with? How I never wanted to let her go, and every moment was more amazin' then the last and just when I finally admitted to myself that what I was feelin' for this girl is real she calls out some other guys name? You wanna hear how it felt like I'd been shattered, and used, how it felt like I was bein' assaulted with bullets in a warzone, violated by a rapist, hollowed from the inside out? You wanna hear how just seein' her makes me sick, and angry, and I feel like I wanna punch her, and at the same time I just wanna kiss her and feel her again? How I wish it had never happened, even though it was better than anythin' I'd ever felt before? How I felt like an idiot for letting her in, and at the same time, feel like an idiot for kickin' her out? How I know she is the worst kind of person, selfish and self-involved, destructive, annoyin', and a million other things I could list off and have in my head a million times, and even knowin' that I still can't get her outta my mind? Is that what you want to hear Lavon?" He was breathing heavily, shaking, the anger seeping through him. His blood raced and it pounded in his ears as he relived the whole thing. He clenched his fists, "Well, was it? Was that what you wanted to hear?"

"Not as much as I think you needed to say it." Lavon said, "Wade, man, you gotta let this go."

"Excuse me?"

"This anger. I ain't sayin' you're not justified, okay, 'cause lord knows you are, but this, this angry thing you got goin' on, it's destroyin' you. It's makin' you miserable. And it aint doin' much for those around you either. I know why you been leavin' town to drink, and it ain't 'cause you don't want Wally to see you slackin' off. It's 'cause you're afraid of losin' it again like you did with Lemon." Wade hung his head, embarrassed, "Just 'cause you don't know 'em doesn't mean you won't lash out at 'em. It just means unlike Lemon, they won't try an' help."

Wade shook his head, "Only Lemon Breeland's got the balls to go after a guy when he's like that. 'Sides, I know what buttons to push for her. No girl hangin' around bars in Mobile is gonna be that stupid as to try to provoke an angry drunk. A guy might, but that'd be a fair fight. I don't mind swingin' a few drunk punches as another drunk guy, and I'll be too numb to feel if he hits me."

"I think maybe it's about time somebody did hit you. You can't go on like this. You think I don't get it, but I do. I've been in love, and I've had my heart broken. I've had the girl pick someone else. And it sucked, and it still hurts like hell. I am nowhere near ready to move on. But I'm tryin'. You gotta start tryin' to."

Wade didn't say anything, so Lavon put the plate back down, stood up, and left. Once he was gone, Wade picked up the tray and threw it against the wall. He let out a scream and collapsed back onto the bed.

* * *

Zoe tried to rush through her burger. She knew Wade's shift started soon, and whether or not  _he_  was avoiding  _her_ , she wasn't sure  _she_  was ready to see  _him._

But it wasn't him she ended up having to see. Looking up, Zoe saw two people walking through the front door of The Rammer Jammer, the happy engaged couple. Unbelievable! George and Lemon, strolling into the place like two lovebirds without a care in the world. George said something, and Lemon chortled, causing Zoe to squeeze her burger so hard meat juice started dripping out.

"Need a napkin?" A kind voice said.

Zoe looked up. Judson. He was standing there all handsome and smiles, ready to come to the rescue. She glanced over at George and Lemon, then back at him.

"Actually, would you maybe like to join me?"

Judson smiled, "I would like that very much."

* * *

Wade tried to keep his eyes off Zoe. He wasn't an idiot; he could see what was going on. She had invited the vet to sit with her seconds after Mr. Perfect-Cheating-Lawyer-Man and Lemon walked in. Now she was talking with him pleasantly, grinning and flirting, and Judson, it was clear, was eating it up. For a guy who went to a big fancy veterinarian college, the dude wasn't too smart. He kept missing the only slightly subtle glances Zoe was throwing at her lover and his ball-and-chain. And George, for his part, was acting very much like a man in love with his fiancé. It was all such a big lie! It made Wade sick. He looked between George and Zoe, not sure whose behavior made him sicker.

"Shelley, I'm goin' on a break." He said, leaving before she had a chance to respond. Once outside, he ran as fast as he could. He didn't know where he was running; he just knew he couldn't stand to be around all those goddamn hypocrites any longer. The model citizen who was cheating on his fiancé, the girl whose profession was to heal others, but who only cared about herself. She would use or hurt whoever she had to to get what she wanted. Sure, Wade never really liked Judson; the dude was boring as shit, and Wade thought he might even be gay. Still, he couldn't help but feel sorry for him. After all, a little over a month ago, that had been him. Zoe's play toy, the thing that she used to feel better or get her way. She couldn't keep treating people like this. And neither could George. They couldn't keep getting away with this shit. There had to be some way he could stop them.

His adrenaline started to slow and he kept to a stop, gasping for breath, defeated. There was no way to stop them; he knew that. At ten, Wade had learned that nature was cruel when he lost his mom to cancer. At eleven, he learned that people too were cruel and selfish, as he lost the father he so desperately needed to alcoholism, and the brother who could have eased his burden to greener pastures. Everybody always chose themselves, and Wade was sick of it. He had tried so hard to forget those lessons, to live his life carefree, and pretend it didn't matter. But he couldn't do that anymore. The burden was too heavy, and he didn't have anybody else to shoulder it for him. And no amount of sex or alcohol would ever ease the ache of that realization.

He didn't recognize where he was, or how far he had run, but he saw and grass, and what appeared to be a pond. Wade was a fair swimmer, but more than swimming, what he was really good at was good at not trying. Hell, he had spent his whole life perfecting that skill. Trying pretty much always meant failing, and Wade was just so sick of trying to make his life hurt, trying to make Zoe look at him, trying to make sense of the insanity surrounding him. It was exhausting, everything was a strain. Even breathing. God, he was so sick of trying to breathe. It would be so easy to just let everything fade away. Before he could change his mind, Wade dove into the water.

* * *

George tried to ignore it, pretend he didn't notice the way Zoe hung on that veterinarian from Mobile, the way she giggled and blushed. She had a right to flirt a little. It wasn't hurting anyone.

"George, are you listening to me?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You know, ever since Planksgiving, it's like you're always somewhere else. I'm beginning to take it personally."

George shook his head, "Sorry Lemon. Guess I'm just tired. Must be those pain meds."

Lemon nodded, "Are you feeling okay? Do you need anything?"

"No!" He nearly shouted at her. Why did she have to be so damn accommodating and caring and worried about him? Was she trying to make him feel guilty? Lemon looked at him, stunned, "Sorry. Like I said, I'm tired."

"Well, maybe we should just go then." Her voice was slightly curt, but George could tell she was trying to control her temper for him. She tried to do so much for him. Why did she have to be so-?

"George, are you comin'?"

He stood and followed her out. She grabbed his hand and he shot her a shaky smile. They were near the door when they were stopped by the sound of catcalls. Turning curiously to see what the commotion was about, George was stunned to see his Zoe in a very passionate lip lock with Dr. Judson Lyons. He felt his jaw drop slightly and his fists clench. What the hell?

* * *

She didn't know why she did it exactly. It wasn't right, and it wasn't fair. But god, watching George and Lemon be all, all, coupley, it was just too much. She just couldn't take it. And Judson had said he had to run and had leaned in to kiss her cheek, and she saw Lemon grab George's hand possessively, like he was hers, and George had just let her. It made her see red, and next thing she knew, she was having a full on make out session smack dab in the middle of  _The_   _Rammer Jammer_ , in front of everybody. In front of George. Which was what she wanted, on some level at least, but he wasn't the only one there. She heard somebody snap a picture, probably Dash for that stupid, nosy blog of his. She heard gasps and whistling, and it struck her how very high school the men in this town could be. Thankfully, she didn't see Wade anywhere. She couldn't even imagine how he would react, or what the repercussions would be. He might try to beat up Judson next. Judson, the sweet, charming, innocent bystander. Judson, who she was kissing even though all she was thinking about was the look on George's face. Judson, who she was using, just like she had used Wade. That thought seemed to snap her back to her senses. She pulled away, and gasped for breath. Judson seemed to take that as a good sign, because he smiled at her.

"Wow." He breathed.

She wished she could return the sentiment, but she just couldn't. He was a decent kisser, but the whole time, she had just been thinking of George, his kisses, his lips, his smile. And of course, his look of shock at her display. She wanted to sneak a glance at him, but thought better of it.

"Um, that was … wow." Zoe still didn't say anything, "So, I guess I'll see you soon. That is, I hope I will."

Zoe nodded, unable to come up with words. Hopefully, he would just take that to mean she was flustered, and not preoccupied with her own dirty little secrets.

* * *

It was the bumps that woke him. At first, Wade didn't know where he was. He barely remembered yesterday, but he knew he had not fallen asleep riding shotgun in some truck as he was now. The sun was bright enough to make him wish he hadn't woken, but going back to sleep was clearly not an option. Either they were on a very bumpy road, or the driver simply could not drive. It was possible that it was some combination of the two.

"You're up." He heard a voice say. Turning, he saw a woman roughly his age, maybe a little older at the steering wheel. She had short red hair, and wore a pink blouse and jeans. "I was starting to wonder if you were ever goin' to wake." Wade didn't say anything, "Did my best to dry you off myself, but I wasn't exactly expectin' to find a stranger floatin' at the bottom when I went out this mornin'. You can borrow somethin' when we get back to the farm though. Figure my husband's about your size."

"Who are you?" Wade asked, finding his voice.

"Me. I'm just the woman who saved you from drownin'."

"Uh, thanks?"

"We should be comin' up on the farm soon. In the meantime, why don't you tell me about yourself."

"I … not much to tell."

"Well, how about start with your name?"

"Jesse." He didn't know why he said it exactly, but it seemed right in that moment.

"Maureen. Nice to meet you." Wade just nodded, "So, Jesse, can I ask what you were doin' out there, other than nearly gettin' yourself killed?"

"I'd rather not go into it." Wade said.

The woman nodded, "All right. Well, here it is."

Wade looked out the window. When he was through being blinded by the sun, he got a good look at what appeared to be a quaint little farm off away from the rest of the world. There was a young girl of maybe six or seven playing with a dog that looked old as dirt. He was scruffy and worn, but the girl didn't seem to care. She just ran around encouraging him to follow her, golden locks trailing behind her in the wind.

"My husband is out gettin' wood for the fireplace, but he should be back soon. Follow me, we'll get you showered up and dressed, and then you can answer some of the questions you were avoidin' on the ride over. Understand, I ain't tryin' to be nosy, but I can hardly help you if you won't share."

Wade followed her out of the car up the dirt path to the house. It was a simple yellow farmhouse, with what he guessed was probably two or three floors. While the building was a little old-fashioned and had clearly been around a while, it seemed to have held up well, not unlike the plantation.

Maureen opened the door, which lead to a kitchen. It looked clean and homely, but before Wade could really take it in she was ushering him up the stairwell. She showed Wade inside and let him to a bathroom, "I'll leave a towel and some clothes for you here." She said, not unkindly. Wade nodded and went to shower off.

His thoughts wandered to the other day. Zoe, George, Lemon, Judson, alcohol, the desire to be anywhere but there, and then … Wade froze. Had he really been trying to … ? He remembered needed to get away, being fed up, the lake that seemed to come out of nowhere like an answer to his prayers, a magical way out. Still, that wasn't him. That wasn't the sort of thing he did. He remembered being so fed up, so tired of everything and everyone. But was that really enough! Was that enough to make him do the unthinkable, or at least attempt it? Wade's life had been shit for decades now, but never before had he considered … but he used to be able to cover his pain with booze and naked women, and he could admit that wasn't cutting it anymore. But still.

Wade was drawn from his thoughts by a light tugging on the shower curtain, "Uh, not quite finished up in here." He said, feeling awkward. He heard a slight giggle, and then saw the tugging again. Anticipating how this was likely to end, Wade reached out through the curtain grabbing for the towel. He luckily got a hold of it and covered himself just in time.

The little girl stood before him; the one who had been playing with the dog, "Who are you?" She asked.

"You pull a curtain off a shower and  _you're_  askin' who  _I_  am?"

"It's my house." She said petulantly. "I'm Jackie." Wade softened.

"That was my ma's name," He said kindly.

"Why are you in my house?"

Wade smiled at her, "Not actually sure yet. Why? You mind me bein' here?"

The girl shook her head, "Why were you wet when you and my mama came drivin' up?"

"Didn't know you saw us; seemed mighty busy with that fur-ball o' yours."

She giggled, "You're funny."

"Why thank you. Now, would you mind givin' me a bit of privacy to get dressed?"

She shook her head and ran out the bathroom.

* * *

Zoe was flipping through pages of  _Something Borrowed_  when she heard the knock on the door.

"George? What are you-?"

"What the hell was that?" He asked storming past her.

"I beg your pardon?"

"At The Rammer Jammer today? With Judson? What was that?"

"It was a kiss. Was that not obvious?"

"Why?"

"I'm sorry, are you actually upset with me here? Because I'm not the one who is still engaged, walking around parading my fiancé in front of you-"

"I wasn't parading … and I didn't know you would be there-"

"That doesn't make it okay."

"It's a delicate situation Zoe. Lemon and I have been together for-"

"Fifteen years. I know!"

"Right, so I just need to figure out the right way to-"

"There is no right way George. You think there is any way you can call things off that won't break her heart? There isn't. There is no scenario where we all walk away from this one big happy family."

George sighed and took a seat on her couch, defeated, "I know, I just … she's never done anything to hurt me."

"And you think putting this off isn't going to hurt her? George, the longer you drag this out, the worse it'll be. Unless …"

"Unless what?"

"Unless you're having second thoughts? Unless you don't really want to call it off?"

"Zoe, no, look, I, I know I'm not handling this … situation as well as I should be but I … I want to be with you. I don't want you to doubt that. Okay?" Zoe nodded.

* * *

Lemon took a deep breath and strode purposefully up to the front door of The Plantation. Lavon and her had not had a chance to talk … in fact, she had been avoiding him, and with good reason. They had agreed to leave everything in the past like it never even happened, and now, suddenly, they had fallen back into old habits. Not. Good. They needed to talk; she knew they did. But she just didn't know how to handle it.

Before she could knock, Lavon opened the door for her, "I was wonderin' when I would see you."

He said, motioning her in, "We need to talk." She said, stating the obvious. She felt flustered. She could not let herself feel flustered.

"I agree." Lavon said, closing the door behind him with those strong arms of his. Still, strong as they were, Lemon knew they were capable to of holding a woman in the most delicate of manners; firmly, but gentle, so she felt safe and she could just melt into embrace … she shook her head, clearing the image from her mind. She was not here to repeat past mistakes.

Lavon lead her past the kitchen to his office, closing the door behind him.

"Are we alone here?"

Lavon nodded, "Zoe's over at her carriage house catchin' some shut-eye, and I haven't seen Wade since yesterday. So he's probably on his way back from a bar in Mobile or Daphne as we speak."

Lemon nodded, "Good. I mean, not the bit about Wade; he's seems more lost than anythin' lately, but that is another conversation for another time." Lavon nodded, "What happened with us, it can't happen again."

"It should never have happened in the first place."

"Completely agree." Maybe this would be easier than she thought.

"So why did it?" Or not.

"What?"

"Why did it? You're with George, engaged and supposedly very excited to be walkin' down that aisle."

"I am very-"

"Then why? Was it just you seekin' comfort from an old lover since you and George are havin' problems? Because if that's what it was-"

"Then it was unfair to you. I know. I am so, so sorry Lavon. I shouldn't be doin' this to you. I know I shouldn't. Because I love George more than life itself, and I am going to marry him."

"But you'll use me when he hurts you? Is that it?"

"No! No, it was, it was more than that."

"Well if it was more than that then why are you marryin' him in the first place?"

"Lavon!" lemon gasped, "You have no right-"

"I have every right. You can't jerk a guy around, play with his heart, say one thing and do another without him wantin' a straight answer from you!" Lemon looked shell-shocked, so Lavon took a second to calm himself down. He took a deep breath, and looked her in the eyes. She ducked her head, trying to look away, but he put his finger under her chin and lifted her head, forcing her to look at him, "Lemon, did you ever really love me?"

"What kind of question is that?" She asked as her eyes started to water. She tried to look away again, but Lavon didn't let her.

"It's the one I'm askin'. It's the one I deserve the answer to."

Blinking back tears, Lemon nodded her head, "Of course I did."

"And when George came back, you just, what, stopped?"

She shook her head vigorously; she was full on crying now and Lavon felt tears land on his hand, "I wanted to. I tried. I tried so hard." She looked at him, "Why can't you just let me be happy with George?"

"I think the real question is, why can't  _you_  just let you be happy with George."

Lemon shook her head, crying. And Lavon held her. It always seemed to start like that. It was always about her crying, her being broken. She couldn't be broken with George; he might leave her. But Lavon, broken Lemon was the only Lemon he knew, and in some ways, he was the only one who really knew her.

She wasn't sure which one of them started the kiss; she never was. They both needed it, so it was just a matter of time really. But Lemon pulled away.

"We can't do this. I can't do this. Not again."

"And I can't just let you walk away. Not again."

"Lavon-"

"Look me in the eye and tell me you're not still in love with me."

"I – I love George Tucker."

"That's not what I asked."

"Well, it's the only answer I can give you." she turned to leave, but Lavon grabbed her arm, stopping her. He wasn't rough. He held her arm gently, with that same, strong reassurance she had come to associate with him. He was holding just above her wrist, drawing circles with his thumb. It was a simple gesture, but it wasn't one she could deny. Not anymore.

* * *

_Holy crap!_  Zoe thought. Her mind was spinning. Her and George had talked, and she had suggested they go away together for a weekend, like Rachel and Dex did on the fourth, but in reverse. If they could get away from everything, maybe they could clear their heads and figure everything out. It had worked for Rachel … eventually. She considered lending George the book, or suggesting they watch the movie together, as it was newly on DVD, but it seemed a little too obvious, and she didn't want George to think she was pushing him. She didn't want him to leave Lemon for any reason other than that he loved her and couldn't live without her.

So, they had made plans. She would leave Friday for a 'medical conference,' in New York, and George would leave Sunday for an 'important case.' They would meet up, then she would return Wednesday, and he would come back Friday. The differing dates made things less suspicious.

Since Friday was tomorrow, Zoe had gone over to the main house to tell Lavon of her plans, and when she couldn't find him, she had started searching, only to find a sight which made her want to remove her corneas. Lavon and LEMON! They were making out up against a wall, so caught up in each other, then didn't even notice her open the door enough to see what was going on and then close it as quickly and quietly as she possibly could.

Lavon and Lemon! LAVON AND LEMON! LAVON HAYES AND LEMON BREELAND!

Her brain wouldn't stop screaming at her. How the hell did those to end up doing … well, whatever they were doing, with each other? Lavon was so kind and friendly and gentle, and Lemon was, well, Lemon. She was mean, stuck up, snooty, and sourer than her name suggested. Plus, she was engaged.

That thought made Zoe freeze. Lemon was cheating on George. She wasn't this perfect fiancé who had never done anything to hurt him! She was fooling around with one of his close friends! This was huge! This was humongous! This was unbelievable! This meant … what did this mean? She didn't want George to pick her because Lemon had been unfaithful. She didn't want to be the second choice, eh rebound, or the revenge girlfriend. But George  _was_  planning to end it. He just didn't want to hurt Lemon when she had never done anything wrong. Except she had! She had done something very, very wrong! But she couldn't just tell George, could she? This was powerful, valuable information, and it might be just what George needed to get him to take that final step so they could start their happily ever after. Zoe had the information now that could change everything. The question was, what exactly was she going to do with it?

 


	7. Chapter 7

It took a minute for Wade to remember where he was when he woke up. At first, he thought maybe it was some girl's bedroom, but then yesterday came rushing back to him.

He needed time to process, but before he could, he heard a knock on the door, "Breakfast in ten. Borrow whatever clothes you like; my husband won't mind."

Wade took his time getting dressed. He needed to think, figure stuff out. What was his plan? Was he going to head back to Bluebell after breakfast? He had to, didn't he? For one, he could get fired. And a bunch of people might get worried about him. Okay, not a bunch of people, but a few. Okay, Lavon might be worried. But Lavon knew he was going through something. And did he really want to go back? Was he ready to return to that, that hypocrisy? It wasn't exactly an appealing concept.

Wade glanced out the window. It really was beautiful here. It reminded him of this farm his parents used to take him and Jesse to for the holidays when they were little. The place belonged to a relative, some aunt, or cousin or something. He didn't really remember. It had been fun though. Wade had always been outdoorsy; that was one of the reasons he had never felt any strong desire to leave Bluebell. But everybody knew him in Bluebell.

First he was the poor Kinsella kid with the hand-me-down, ripped up shirts, whose brother was smarter and whose dad couldn't hold a job. Then he was the kid whose mom had cancer, then the one whose mother died of cancer, then the one with the alcoholic father, and finally, the town screw-up/playboy. He had kinda made that one happen, but he needed to be something other than the pitiable boy from the poor family with all the tragedy. So he had become the guy who didn't care, the guy who always wore a smile and had a crude joke. He was the guy who could get any girl into bed. But that reputation wasn't exactly working out for him either, at least not lately.

Wade was tired of dealing with what people thought of him. Here, he wouldn't have to be Wade Kinsella. He was just some stranger hanging out on a farm, far, far away from his problems. If Jesse could run away and leave it all behind, why couldn't he? Okay, so he couldn't just leave Earl, but after what he had just tried to pull, he wasn't exactly in shape to be talking someone else off a roof. Besides, he still had some time before the first of the month. He could figure stuff out by then. And if he couldn't, well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

Maureen's husband's clothes were a little big on him, but not noticeably so. He made it work. Once he was dressed, he made his way downstairs, stopping at the pictures that lined the wall on the staircase. He saw Maureen, Jackie, and the man that must be Maureen's husband. They looked like the perfect little happy family. Wade couldn't help but wonder how much of that was real. Were they really happy, or were they like Lemon and George, only happy on the outside? When he was little, Wade had always been jealous of the Tuckers and the Breelands. They had always seemed so put together. The town loved them, and they had money and status. Their clothes were new and they matched. Nobody ever made fun of them behind their backs. Nobody accused George's mom of marrying a deadbeat, or said Lemon's dad was worthless. They had good jobs, stable income's. They always seemed so happy.

Then Lemon's mom had up and left and Lemon had basically broken down. At the time, Wade had been kind of caught up in his own screwed up family. By then, his mom had passed, and his dad had become Crazy Earl, so even Lemon's family looked pretty good to him. Looking back, he knew he had been lucky. Not after his mom passed and Earl hit the bottle, but before. His family had very little money. Earl had trouble holding a job, and people had made fun of him and his hand-me-down clothes. He was a scrawny unpopular kid from a family of nobodies. However, his family had been full of love, and fun, and good memories.

His dad had read him and Jesse to bed at night, and taught him how to fix up a car. His mom hadn't been able to cook fancy meals like a southern Belle, but they used to have breakfast together every Saturday morning, grits, and sausage, and pancakes that looked like Mickey Mouse. They couldn't afford to go on fancy vacations and stay in fancy hotels, but they would take long drives to find the perfect fishing spot, and when the hunk of junk that was their car broke down, which it usually did, they would work together to get it back on the road. If the damage was really bad, and they were stranded for a while somewhere, they would pass the time telling ghost stories and catching fireflies. And if the stories were too much and Wade got scared, he'd hide under his mother's shirt, and on the ride back, they would pretend it never happened and that he was brave and even Jesse would swear never to tell anybody.

Sure, they had their bad moments. His parents would fight about money and bills, but at the end of the day, they loved each other. They weren't perfect, but they were a family. Wade would give anything to have those times back now, hand-me-down clothes and all. The Kinsellas had been poor, and unpopular, insignificant, even the subject of ridicule at times, but they had been real, which was more than he could say for the Tuckers or the Breelands, or a certain doctor who was caught up in a love story lie. But he didn't want to think about her. Or any of them. He was so sick of the lies. He just wanted something real.

He came downstairs and was greeted by the smell of fresh pancakes, plain, blueberry, and chocolate chip. Jackie was digging into one that was so doused in syrup he could barely make out what appeared to be a mouse's left ear. Wade suppressed a smile.

"Well, look whose finally up." Maureen said.

Wade glanced at the clock, "It's just after 9:00."

Maureen smiled, "Right, sorry. It's just that we get up with chickens around here. Got a farm to run and all."

"Up with the chickens!" Jackie said giggling.

"Jackie, don't go talkin' with your mouthful. Now, Jesse, how do you like your pancakes?"

It took Wade a minute to remember that he had given her his brother's name, "What? Oh, yeah, um, I'm not picky."

"Well, get picky, we got three different kinds. Pick one."

"Um, well," he turned to the little girl, "Jackie, what do you recommend?" The girl pointed to the Blueberry, "Blueberry it is."

Maureen flipped three pancakes onto a plate and handed it to him. "There you are. We got some fresh squeezed orange juice right over there, so help yourself. Haven't milked the cows yet though."

"That's all right. I'm more of a juice kind of guy anyway."

Maureen continued to buzz around the kitchen while Jackie told Wade all about the dog he had seen her playing with. His name, how long they had had him, how they got him, what tricks he could do, etc. She was very chatty, though Maureen had to keep reminding her not to talk with her mouth full.

"So, Jesse," Maureen began once they finished eating, "How long will you be stayin' with us?"

"What do ya mean?" Wade asked, confused.

"Well, I get the feelin' that you don't exactly want to talk about where you're from, and you're not in a hurry to head on back, which is fine. No matter how old we get, we all gotta run away sometimes. And I'm certainly not letting you out on your own to drown again. We can always use some extra farmhands. You can stay as long as you need."

Wade nodded, "Thank you." He wasn't sure if it was the right thing to say, but he couldn't think of anything else.

"Well, now we got that settled, we got work to do. This farm ain't gonna run itself. Jackie, you go check on the chickens. Jesse, you ever milked a cow before?"

"No ma'am."

"Well, there's a first time for everythin'. Come on, I'll show ya how it's done."

* * *

Organizing was good; somehow, organizing always seemed to help Zoe relax. George would be here soon, and she still had no clue what to say to him. She had left Friday, as planned, her brain still full of the image of her best friend canoodling with the fiancé of the guy she was in love with. She had checked into the hotel, and tried to decide on the best course of action. It had been two days now, and she still didn't know what to do. She was buzzing with nervous energy. She kept shifting the covers, fluffing the pillows, folding and re-folding the clothes she had brought. She tried reading, but she couldn't seem to concentrate. Her mind wandered when she watched television. Whatever she was doing didn't stop her mind from overanalyzing. So, she settled on keeping her hands busy as her mind did somersaults.

There was a click, and a beeping noise, and then George came into the room. Zoe sat up, trying not to look as disheveled as she felt.

"Hi." George said, smiling at her.

"Hi." She responded, awkwardly. She stood to greet him, but she wasn't exactly sure how. Should she hug him? Kiss him? Punch his arm? He made the decision for hr, drawing her to him, planting a kiss on her lips. She opened her mouth, letting him in. It felt so good to have him kissing her. Her mind went blank for the first time in days. It was quite a relief.  _This is what it's supposed to feel like_ , she thought,  _a guy who can make everything else just melt away._

"I missed you." George said, pulling back.

She didn't answer, pulling him back to her. She knew that the second he stopped kissing her, her mind would start working again. She didn't want to think about her guilt. She didn't want to obsess about if she should tell George about Lemon and Lavon. She didn't want to wonder why she was keeping Judson around; she didn't want to think about whether he was a cover, or an incentive for George to end things with Lemon, or if she was just a horrible person. And she couldn't even comprehend how Wade fit into everything.

No, so long as George kept kissing her, and running his arms up and down her back, everything would be okay. Her mind would clear, and she would get lost in his touch, his taste, his scent, all of it. She would let herself get caught up in George. She needed him. She needed her mind to shut up. She needed her conscience to shut up.

"Zoe." He said, pulling away. She pulled him back again, kissing him hungrily, desperately, "Zoe." He tried again. She didn't listen, she just kept going. He stepped out of her grasp, leaving her confused.

"What? I, what?" She stammered.

"Zoe, I'm happy to see you, but I thought the point of this weekend was to figure out what we're going to do. We can't really do that if we're … attached to each other."

Zoe sighed, brushing the hair from her face, "I know. You're right. I'm sorry. I just …"  _needed a drug to shut off my overactive mind,_ "missed you."

George smiled in that way that turned her legs to jelly, "I missed you too."

"So …" Zoe trailed off, not sure what to say.

"Yeah." George sighed, "This is, uh, a nice hotel."

Zoe shrugged, "My mom has connections."

George nodded, "So, what have you been doing?"

"Nothing really. Just … thinking. About things. About us."

George nodded, "And?"

Zoe shook her head, "And, I think maybe we need to look at the timeframe here. You're wedding is scheduled for May, right?" George nodded, "And it's December now, so that's six months away." He nodded again, "So, it would probably be best, if you're going to call it off, to call it off as soon as possible."

"I am going to call it off, Zoe. I told you."

"When?"

"As soon as we get back?"

Zoe smiled, "Seriously?"

George nodded, "Yeah. You're right. This has gone on long enough, and the longer it goes on, the more I hate myself." He reached out and touched her cheek gently, "I just want to be with you."

"So, what now?"

"Well, we're supposed to see what it would be like, right? Us, as a couple?" Zoe nodded, "In that case, Zoe Hart, would you care to accompany me to dinner?"

Zoe giggled, nodding, "I would be honored, kind sir."

* * *

It had been a few days, and Wade was getting the hang of life on the farm. They were a nice family. He pitched in, milking cows and such. He ate breakfast with them, and he played with the dog. The only thing that seemed off, that Wade couldn't figure out, was Maureen's husband. Wade had yet to meet the guy. According to Maureen he was always working, or running late, and would be "home any minute." So far though, there was no sign of him.

Wade grabbed an apple and headed outside.

"Hey Jackie, can I ask you a question?" He said, sitting down on a log by the little girl he had grown so fond of. She was playing with that furball again; she was always playing with him it seemed.

"Sure." Jackie said with a shrug.

"Where's your dad at?" Jackie looked up at him confused. "It's just, your mom is always sayin'-"

"Mommy likes to pretend."

"What'd'ya mean?"

She looked up at him, "Daddy's dead."

Wade almost choked on his apple. Jackie had already gone back to playing with her dog. He didn't know what to say. How could … he didn't even know what to ask. As he tried to phrase a question, Maureen headed over to them.

"How's my baby?" She asked Jackie.

"I'm fine momma."

"You hungry?" Jackie nodded, "Well, why don't you two go get washed up, while I get started on dinner."

Jackie nodded and stood, heading for the house. Wade remained where he was, dumbstruck, "You okay there, Jesse?" Wade nodded numbly, "You sure? Wanna talk about it?" Wade didn't say anything. "You ever gonna tell me what you were doin' out there at that lake?" He didn't answer, "You have to talk about it at some point. Maybe not to me, but … those things eat you after a while."

"And what eats at you?" He finally asked.

Maureen shook her head, "We all got problems Jesse. It's just a matter of learnin' to live with them. And it's important that we do, for those who love us, if not for ourselves."

Wade scoffed, "What makes you think I got anyone who loves me."

"Everybody does, even if they don't know it. 'Sides, I've seen you with my daughter, and you don't learn to be that kind without knowin' love."

Wade shook his head, "Even if I knew it once …" Wade trialed off, unsure what to say, "What do you do when the only person who really loved you is gone?"

"You learn to go on." She looked at the window, where she could see her daughter getting ready for dinner, "And eventually, you find somethin' that makes it worth it." She stood up, and offered Wade her hand to help him up.

"I'll be in in a minute."

Maureen winced, "Okay." She said, "Just keep away from the lake."

He nodded, watching her head in. Then, he stood, picked up a stone, and chucked it at the sky. It fell back with a plop.

* * *

" _What are you throwin' stones for?"_

_Wade shook his head. He was moping, and it was childish, he knew, but he didn't care, "Jess and his buds went off to with some dumb girls. He wouldn't let me come, or even tell me what they were goin' to do."_

_Jackie Kinsella rolled her eyes, "That boy. " she said, shaking her head, "What am I gonna do with him?"_

" _I just don't get it. We used to be so close, ya know? Now he just wants to hang with his baseball buds and those girls who come around."_

_Jackie nodded, sitting down next to her son, "I'm sorry baby."_

" _Don't call me that!" he yelled, standing, "It's stuff like this that makes him not want to hang with me. He thinks I'm just a dumb kid."_

" _Wade Kinsella, don't you dare say that. You are a lot of things, but dumb is not one of them."_

" _Mom-"_

" _I'm serious. Nobody insults my baby, nobody, not even him. You are smart, Wade."_

" _Not as smart as Jesse."_

" _He's older, that doesn't mean he's smarter. He's just had more time to learn. And he clearly has yet to learn that girls and sports are not a good reason to leave your brother behind."_

_Wade shook his head, "He's never gonna wanna play with me again. He's gonna grow up and leave me behind."_

_Jackie shook her head, "Never happen. You are far too clever. Besides, I won't let it happen."_

_Wade scoffed, "And how are you gonna stop it?"_

_Jackie put her hand on her son's shoulder, "Because I love you. And there ain't nothin' stronger than a mother's love. Ask anyone."_

_Wade smirked, "Why would you wanna waste your love on a loser like me? You got Jesse."_

_Jackie shook her head, "I love your brother to bits. But he's boneheaded, and reckless, and sometimes he can't see in front of his own nose. He can't see that what he does effects other people, hurts other people." She started stroking Wade's hair, "But you, my baby boy, have got the biggest heart I ever did see. You care so much. And I know that that hurts sometimes. It feels like the little things bother you more than they should, like Jesse goin' off. But that ability to feel, to love with your whole heart, that is a superpower. And that is why I cannot help but love you. You may not see it, how special you are, but someday you will. And the world will look in awe at this boy who feels so much, and loves so deeply that he has made a bigger impact than he ever thought he could. I won't be surprised, though. I knew you were special from the second you were born. I've watched you grow, and I'll keep watchin'. I'll be there every step of the way. And one day, you'll come to me, and tell me I was right. You'll finally see what I see."_

_Wade leaned his head into his mother's chest. He could feel the tears, and he knew Jesse would tease him if he were here, but Wade just didn't care._

" _You won't ever leave me behind, will you? Like Jesse does?"_

_Jackie shook her head, "Never. I will always be here, cheerin' you on. Even when you don't want me too, when I embarrass you so much that you look like a tomato, I'll be there. Lovin' you, believin' in you. That's a mother's job. And ya know what? It's the best one in the world."_

* * *

"That was amazing. I can't believe I never had hibachi before."

Zoe smiled, "Yeah. All that time in the city, you'd think you would have." George grimaced, "What?"

"It's just, if I hadn't spent that time in the city, would you still…?" He trialed off, but Zoe caught his meaning. She stopped walking and turned to him. He was so cute when he got all insecure.

"George, of course I would." She grabbed his hand, "It's you I like."

"Enough to stay for good?" George asked. Zoe was quiet. She hadn't seen that coming. "I know we haven't talked about it. It's just, what happens when your year is up? Are you still … still plannin' on leavin'?" He asked nervously.

Was she? She hadn't really thought about it. "I …" She started, but she didn't really know where to go with that thought.

George let go of her hand, "You …?" She dodged his gaze, "Come on, Zoe. I'm walking away from a fifteen-year relationship for you. I'm callin' off a weddin' for you-"

His tone sounded accusatory, maybe even a little resentful to Zoe's ears. She did not care for it. "Do you not want to?" She asked.

"No, of course I do. But-"

"Then it's not just for me." She argued, "If you and Lemon were solid, if you really wanted to marry her,  _we_ never would have happened."

George looked down, "That's not fair."

"Oh, and you're being so fair right now? You're trying to guilt me into staying."

"What's the other option? Long distance? Or did you just expect me to follow you to New York like some lost puppy?"

Ouch. That was harsh. "I don't know, okay." She answered, exasperated, "I figured we'd cross that bridge when we came to it."

"Well, we're at it now!"

"It's months away!"

"So is my wedding, and if I'm goin' to walk away from that now-"

"If? It's if now?"

"Of course not. You know what I mean."

"No, I don't. Are you actually planning to leave Lemon, or are you just going to keep this going as long as you can, get a few good fucks in, and then go live happily ever after with your perfect little Stepford Wife?"

"Hey, there's no call for that, okay. Lemon's done nothin' wrong. And are you just gonna wreck my relationship and then hop on a flight to New York to live your perfect surgeon life?"

Zoe shook her head, "That's not the same. I can have you and be a surgeon, but you can't have both Lemon and me. It doesn't work that way."

"I know that. But-"

"And you loved New York. You're always talking about it. You said Lemon was one of the reason's you came back, so I don't see-"

" _One_  of the reasons, not  _the only_  reason. I liked New York, but Bluebell is my home. If you don't know that, you don't know me. And besides, I thought the place was growin' on you."

"I'm a surgeon George. Do you know how much time I put into that? Years and years of study, of no sleep, and no social life, because I knew this is what I wanted to do. What I'm meant to do. I can't do that in Bluebell."

They were both shouting, wanting to strangle each other for their comments and their priorities. Then, as suddenly as it had come, the anger just drained. They were both tired, so George guided Zoe to a bench nearby, "I just … I don't want to lose you and … I had hoped I would be enough for you to want to stay."

"Could you uproot your whole life for one person?" Zoe asked.

"Isn't that what love is supposed to be?"

They were both quiet for a minute, "I'm not saying it's insane, me staying. You're right. Bluebell has grown on me, thanks in no small part to you. And I've made good friends, and I freaking own half a medical practice," George chuckled at that, "I just don't know what I'm gonna do down the road. And it would be nice to know that you don't need some guarantee to be sure about us. I don't want you to leave Lemon with a security blanket. Even if I stay, or if you went with me to New York, this still might not work. You can't go into a relationship with a guarantee. You just have to jump, and trust that the feelings you have for each other are enough, and that you'll make it through."

George nodded, "I know. And I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said if. I am calling off the wedding. No matter what happens with us, marrying Lemon wouldn't be right. It would be unfair to her." He looked at Zoe, his eyes so intense, so full of emotion that it made Zoe's heart swell, "I'm in love with someone else."

Zoe's breath caught. Had he just said … "Zoe? Did you hear me?"

She nodded, "I love you too." And she did. At least, she thought she did. Didn't she? She had too. She was risking everything to be with him. She had become the other woman, and she still couldn't walk away. He made her heart flutter. He made her melt. He made her feel like nobody else ever had. Didn't that mean she loved him?

He smiled at her, relieved at her response, so she did the only thing that made any sense. She kissed him. It was a good kiss. Every kiss with George was a good kiss. Somewhere nearby, Zoe could hear music playing. She recognized it; it was "(You Want To) Make A Memory." It was a good song. Zoe had always had a soft spot for Bon Jovi. She figured it was a sign.

* * *

Zoe headed for the plantation. George had dropped her off in town, which was very reminiscent of their first meeting, a thought that made both of them smile. They figured he shouldn't bring her all the way home. Besides, he had to talk to Lemon. For all she knew, George was single by now. Well, not single. Hers. They could start their lives together any minute now. The thought made her giddy. Sure, things had gotten a little weird while they were away, but all couples had issues. George could make her happy; she was sure of it. And she could make him happy; she was sure of that too. So she hummed "(You Want To) Make A Memory," which she now thought of as their song, as she headed home.

She was surprised to see the sheriff's car out in front of the main house. There were a few other cars as well, none of which she recognized. Nervously, she entered the kitchen. Lavon was there, and Lemon, and Brick, Sherriff Bill, Addie, Lilah, Shelley, and Crazy Earl.

"Well, where have you been?" Lilah asked, her tone across between amused and accusing.

"I had a, uh, medical conference." Zoe stuttered, "Not that it's any of your business." She added as an after thought.

Lilah just stared at her for a minute, then turned her attention back to Sheriff Bill.

"What's, um, what's going on?" Zoe asked.

Lavon turned to Zoe sadly, "Big Z, Wade's missing."

 


End file.
